"^o^ 




























,H< 
















5> M^ 










P^.' .^•^^- 







ip-?"^ 














o > 




i^'^ 



rvS 









4*'\ 







.«'°* 



^°-'*.. .- 



-»' *r 




"^^*^^*'^<>'' . "V^"^-' / ""V '•"^^~* V 









r. ^^0^ 
.^•^^- 








^ — Ar ^o^ 




^•'f.r.^^G^" X'^???f:*<v" ^-'f-T-^o^^ X' 









000249 



CHRISTINA OF DENMARK 
DUCHESS OF MILAN AND LORRAINE 

1522— 1590 



000249 



' 000249 

CHRISTINA OF DENMARK 

DUCHESS OF MILAN AND 

LORRAINE 

1522--1590 



BY JULIA CARTWRIGHT 

(MRS. ADY) 

AUTHOR OF "ISABELLA D'ESTE," " BALDASSARRE CASTIGLIONE, 
"THE PAINTERS OF FLORENCE," ETC. 



" Dieu, qu'il la fait bon regarder, 
La gracieuse, bonne et belle ! 
Pour les grans biens qui sont en elle, 
Chacun est prest de la louer. 

Qui se pouirait d'elle lasser ? 
Toujours sa beaute renouvelle. 
Dieu, qu'il la fait bon regarder, 
La gracieuse, bonne et belle ! 

Par de^a, ne dela la met, 
Ne SQay Dame ne Damoiselle • 
Qui soil en tous biens parfais telle ; 
C'est un songe que d'y penser, 

Dieu, qu'il la fait bon regarder !" 

Charles d'Orleans 



LONDON 

JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, W. 

1913 




139 C N 

- ~ 'L'L 195^ 



->> 






^^\<^<^ 



\ 



PREFACE 

Christina of Denmark is known to the world by 
Holbein's famous portrait in the National Gallery. 
The great Court painter, who was sent to Brussels 
by Henry VHI. to take the likeness of the Emperor's 
niece, did his work well. With unerring skill he has 
rendered the " singular good countenance," the clear 
brown eyes with their frank, honest gaze, the smile 
hovering about " the faire red lips," the slender 
fingers of the nervously clasped hands, which Bran- 
tome and his royal mistress, Catherine de' Medici, 
thought " the most beautiful hands in the world." 
And in a wonderful way he has caught the subtle 
charm of the young Duchess's personality, and made 
it live on his canvas. What wonder that Henry fell 
in love with the picture, and vowed that he would have 
the Duchess, if she came to him without a farthing ! 
But for all these brave words the masterful King's 
wooing failed. The ghost of his wronged wife. 
Katherine of Aragon, the smoke of plundered abbeys, 
and the blood of martyred friars, came between him 
and his destined bride, and Christina was never 
numbered in the roll of Henry VHI.'s wives. This 
splendid, if perilous, adventure was denied her. But 
many strange experiences marked the course of her 
chequered hfe, and neither beauty nor virtue could 
save her from the shafts of envious Fortune. Her 



vi PREFACE 

troubles began from the cradle. When she was little 
more than a year old, her father, King Christian II., 
was deposed by his subjects, and her mother, the 
gentle Isabella of Austria, died in exile of a broken 
heart. She lost her first husband, Francesco Sforza, 
at the end of eighteen months. Her second husband, 
Francis Duke of Lorraine, died in 1545, leaving her once 
more a widow at the age of twenty- three. Her only son 
was torn from her arms while still a boy by a foreign 
invader, Henry II., and she herself was driven into 
exile. Seven years later she was deprived of the 
regency of the Netherlands, just when the coveted 
prize seemed within her grasp, and the last days of 
her existence were embittered by the greed and 
injustice of her cousin, Philip II. 

Yet, in spiteof hard blows and cruel losses, Christina's 
life was not all unhappy. The blue bird — the symbol 
of perpetual happiness in the faery lore of her own 
Lorraine — may have eluded her grasp, but she filled 
a great position nobly, and tasted some of the deepest 
and truest of human joys. Men and women of all 
descriptions adored her, and she had a genius for 
friendship which survived the charms of youth and 
endured to her dying day. A woman of strong 
affections and resolute will, she inherited a consider- 
able share of the aptitude for government that dis- 
tinguished the women of the Habsburg race. Her 
relationship with Charles V. and residence at the 
Court of Brussels brought her into close connection 
with political events during the long struggle with 
France, and it was in a great measure due to her 
exertions that the peace which ended this Sixty Years' 
War was finally concluded at Cateau-Cambresis in 
1559. 



PREFACE vii 

Holbein's Duchess, it is evident, was a striking 
figure, and her Ufe deserves more attention than it 
has hitherto received. Brantome honoured her with 
a place in his gallery of fair ladies, and the sketch 
which he has drawn, although inaccurate in many 
details, remains true in its main outlines. But with 
this exception Christina's history has never yet been 
written. The chief sources from which her biography 
is drawn are the State Archives of Milan and Brussels, 
supplemented by documents in the Record Office, 
the Bibliotheque Nationale, the Biblioteca Zelada 
near Pavia, and the extremely interesting collection 
of Guise letters in the Balcarres Manuscripts, which has 
been preserved in the Advocates' Library at Edin- 
burgh. A considerable amount of information, as 
will be seen from the Bibliography at the end of this 
volume, has been collected from contemporary 
memoirs, from the histories of Bucholtz and Henne, 
and the voluminous correspondence of Cardinal 
Granvelle and Philip II., as well as from Tudor, 
Spanish, and Venetian State Papers. 

In conclusion, I have to acknowledge the kind 
help which I have received in my researches from 
Monsignor Rodolfo Maiocchi, Rector of the Borromeo 
College at Pavia, from Signor O. F. Tencajoli, and 
from the keepers of English and foreign archives, 
among whom I must especially name Signor Achilla 
Giussani, of the Archivio di Stato at Milan, Monsieur 
Gaillard, Director of the Brussels Archives, and Mr. 
Hubert Hall. My sincere thanks are due to Count 
Antonio Cavagna Sangiuliani for giving me permission 
to make use of manuscripts in his library at Zelada; 
to Monsieur Leon Cardon for leave to reproduce four 
of the Habsburg portraits in his fine collection at 



viii PREFACE 

Brussels; and to Mr. Henry Oppenheimer for allowing 
me to publish his beautiful and unique medal of 
the Duchess of Milan. I must also thank Sir Kenneth 
Mackenzie and the Trustees of the Advocates' Library 
for permission to print a selection from the Balcarres 
Manuscripts, and Mr. Campbell Dodgson and Mr. G. F. 
Hill for the kindness with which they have placed 
the treasures of the British Museum at my disposal. 
Lastly, a debt of gratitude, which I can never suffi- 
ciently express, is due to Dr. Hagb erg-Wright and the 
staff of the London Library, for the invaluable help 
which they have given me in this, as in all my other 

works. 

JULIA CARTWRIGHT. 

OCKHAM, 

Midsummer Day, 19 13. 



CONTENTS 



BOOK I 

PAGE 

Isabella of Austria, Queen of Denmark, the Mother 

OF Christina : 1507 — 15 14 ----- i 



BOOK II 

Christian II., King of Denmark, the Father of 

Christina : 1513— 1523 - - - - - 17 

BOOK III 

Kings in Exile: 1523— 1531 - - - - - 36 

BOOK IV 

Christina, Duchess of Milan: 1533 — 1535 - - 71 

BOOK V 
The Widow of Milan: 1535 — 1538 - - - - in 

BOOK VI 

The Courtship of Henry VIII.: 1537 — 1539 - - 144 

BOOK VII 
Cleves, Orange, and Lorraine: 1539 — 1541 - - 207 

BOOK VIII 

Christina, Duchess of Lorraine : 1541 — 1545 - - 256 

ix 



X CONTENTS 

BOOK IX 

Christina, Regent of Lorraine: 1545—1552 - - 298 



PAGK 



BOOK X 

The French Invasion: 1551 — 1553 - - - - 354 

BOOK XI 

Christina at Brussels: 1553 — 1559 - - - 382 

BOOK XII 

The Peace of Cateau-Cambresis : 1557 — 1559 - - 419 

BOOK XIII 

The Return to Lorraine : 1559— 1578 • - - 450 

BOOK XIV 

The Lady of Tortona : 1578— 1590 - - - . 496 

Appendix: A Selection of Unpublished Documents - 516 

Bibliography • - - - - - 528 

Genealogical Tables - - - - - - 533 

Index - - - - - - - - 541 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



TO FACE PAGE 

Christina of Denmark, Duchess of Milan Frontispiece 
By Holbein (National Gallery). 

Charles V. ----- " 4 

By B, VAN Orley (Cardon Collection, Brussels). 

Eleanor of Austria - - - - - 6 

By B, VAN Orlev (Cardon Collection, Brussels). 

Isabella of Austria, Queen of Denmark - - 12 

By B. VAN Orley. 

Christian II., King of Denmark - - - 3° 

London Library, 

The Children of Christian II., King of Denmark - 54 
By Jean Mabuse (Hampton Court Palace). 

Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan - - - 92 

British Museum. 

Christina, Duchess of Milan - - - - 92 

Oppenheimer Collection, London. 

Frederic, Count Palatine - - - - 106 

Ascribed to A. DtiRER (Darmstadt). 

Mary, Queen of Hungary - - - - 188 

By B. van Orley (Cardon Collection, Brussels). 

Grande Porterie, Palais Ducal, Nancy - - 260 

Charles v. ----- - 322 

By Titian (Munich). 

xi 



xii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

TO FACE PAGE 

H6tel-de-Ville, Brussels . . . . 332 

S. GuDULE, Brussels - . . . . 332 

Palais Ducal, Nancy _ - . . - 364 

Philip II. and Mary - - - - - 412 

By Jacopo da Trezzo (British Museum). 

Antoine Perrenot, Cardinal Granvelle - - 412 

By Leone Leoni (British Museum). 

Margaret, Duchess of Parma - - - - 412 

By Pastorino (British Museum). 

William, Prince of Orange . . . - 456 

By Adriaan Key (Darmstadt), 

Mary, Queen of Scots - - - - - 466 

By Francois Clcuet (Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris). 

Charles III., Duke of Lorraine - - - 472 

British Museum. 

The Three Duchesses - - - - - 508 

Prado, Madrid, 



CHRISTINA OF DENMARK 



BOOK I 

ISABELLA OF AUSTRIA, QUEEN OF DENMARK, 
THE MOTHER OF CHRISTINA 

1507— 1514 

I. 

The 19th of July, 1507, was a memorable day in the 
history of Malines. A solemn requiem Mass was sung 
that morning in the ancient church of S. Rombaut 
for the soul of Philip, King of Castille and Archduke 
of Austria, and, by right of his mother, Duke of 
Burgundy and Count of Flanders and Brabant. 
The news of this young monarch's sudden death at 
Burgos had spread consternation throughout the 
Netherlands, where the handsome, free-handed Prince 
was very popular with the subjects who enjoyed peace 
and prosperity under his rule. " Never," wrote a 
contemporary chronicler, " w^as there such lamenta- 
tion made for any King, Duke, or Count, as for our 
good King Philip. There was no church or monastery 
in the whole land where solemn Masses were not said 
for the repose of his soul, and the mourning was 
greatest in the city of Antwerp, where all the people 
assembled for the yearly Fair wept over this noble 
young Prince who had died at the age of twenty- 
eight." ^ The King's corpse was laid in the dark 

^ L. Gachard, " Voyages des Souverains des Pays-Bas," i. 455. 



2 ISABELLA OF AUSTRIA [Bk. I 

vaults of Miraflores, where his widow, the unhappy- 
Queen Juana, kept watch by her husband's grave 
night and day ; while, in obedience to his last wishes, 
his heart was brought to the Netherlands and buried 
in his mother's tomb at Bruges. Now the States- 
General and nobles were summoned by Margaret of 
Austria, the newly-proclaimed Governess of the 
Netherlands, to attend her brother's funeral at 
Malines. 

From the gates of the Keyserhof, through the 
narrow streets of the old Flemish city, the long pro- 
cession wound its way : Knights of the Golden Fleece, 
nobles, deputies. Bishops and clergy, merchants, 
artisans, and beggars, all clad in deep mourning. 
Twelve heralds, followed by a crowd of gentlemen 
with Ughted torches, bore the armour and banners of 
the dead King to the portals of S. Rombaut. There 
an immense catafalque, draped with cloth of gold 
and blazing with wax lights, had been erected in the 
centre of the nave. Three golden crowns, symbols of 
the three realms over which Philip held sway, hung 
from the vault, and the glittering array of gold and 
silver images on the high-altar stood out against the 
sable draperies on the walls. A funeral oration was 
pronounced by the late King's confessor, the Bishop 
of Arras chanted the requiem Mass, and when the 
last blessing had been given. Golden Fleece threw his 
staff on the floor, crying: " The King is dead !"^ At 
the sound of these thrice-repeated words the heralds 
lowered their banners to the ground, and there was a 
moment of profound silence, only broken by the 

^ "Bulletins de la Commission Royale d'Histoire," 2>eme s6rie, 
V. 113-119. Jehan Le Maire, " Les Funeraux de Feu Don 
Philippe." 



July, 1507] MARGARET OF AUSTRIA 3 

sound of weeping. Then Golden Fleece cried in a 
ringing voice: "Charles, Archduke of Austria !" and 
all eyes were turned to the fair, slender boy, who, 
robed in a long black mantle, knelt alone before the 
altar. " My lord lives ! long may he live !" cried 
the King-at-Arms ; and a great shout went up on 
all sides: " Long live Charles, Archduke of Austria 
and Prince of Castille I" A sword blessed by the 
Bishop of Arras was placed in the boy's hands, 
and the heralds of Burgundy, Flanders, Holland, and 
Friesland, raising their fallen pennons, each in turn 
proclaimed the titles of the youthful Prince, who was 
to be known to the world as Charles V. 

No one wept more bitterly for King Philip than his 
only sister, Margaret, the widowed Duchess of Savoy, 
as she knelt in her oratory close to the great church. 
Although only twenty-seven, she had known many 
sorrows. After being wedded to the Dauphin at two 
years old, and educated at the French Court till she 
reached the age of thirteen, she was rejected by 
Charles VIII. in favour of Anne of Brittany, and sent 
back to her father, the Emperor Maximilian. Three 
years afterwards she went to Spain as the bride of 
Don Juan, the heir to the crowns of Castille and 
Aragon, only to lose her husband and infant son 
within a few months of each other. In 1501 she 
became the wife of Duke Philibert of Savoy, with 
whom she spent the three happiest years of her life. 
But in September, 1504, the young Duke died of 
pleurisy, the result of a chill which he caught out 
hunting, and his heart-broken widow returned once 
more to her father's Court. 

On the death of Philip in the following year, 
Maximihan prevailed upon his daughter to undertake 



4 ISABELLA OF AUSTRIA [Bk. I 

the government of the Netherlands, and in April, 
1507, Margaret was proclaimed Regent, and took up 
her abode at Malines. She was a singularly able and 
gifted woman, and her personal charms and rich 
dowry soon attracted new suitors. Before she became 
Regent she had received proposals of marriage from 
Henry VII. of England, which Maximilian urged her 
to accept, saying that she might divide the year 
between England and the Netherlands. Louis XII., 
who in his boyhood had played with the Archduchess 
at Amboise, would also gladly have made her his 
second wife, but, as he remarked: " Madame Mar- 
guerite's father has arranged marriages for her three 
times over, and each time she has fared badly," 
Margaret herself was quite decided on the subject, and 
declared that she would never marry again. Hence- 
forth she devoted herself exclusively to the adminis- 
tration of the Netherlands and the guardianship of 
her brother's young family. Of the six children 
which Juana of Castille had borne him, two remained 
in Spain, the younger boy Ferdinand and the infant 
Katherine, who did not see the light until months 
after her father's death. But the elder boy, Charles, 
and his three sisters, grew up under their aunt's eye 
in the picturesque old palace at Malines, which is 
still known as the Keyserhof, or Cour de I'Empereur. 
The eldest girl, Eleanor, afterwards Queen of Portugal 
and France, was two years older than her brother; 
the second, Isabella, the future Queen of Denmark, 
born on the i sth of August, 1 501 , was nearly six ; and 
Mary, the Queen of Hungary, who was to play so 
great a part in the history of the Netherlands, had 
only just completed her first year. Margaret, whose 
own child hardly survived its birth, lavished all a 




CHARLES V. (1515) 
By Bernaid van Orley (Cardon Collection) 



To face p. 4 



Feb.,i509] MAXIMILIAN'S grandchildren 5 

mother's affection on her youthful nephew and 
nieces. If the boy was naturally the chief object of 
her care, the little girls held a place very near to her 
heart. This was especially the case with " Madame 
Isabeau," her godchild, who was born when Margaret 
was living at Malines before her second marriage. A 
gentle and charming child, Isabella won the hearts 
of all, and became fondly attached to the brother 
who was so nearly her own age. 

Margaret's letters to the Emperor abound in allusions 
to these children, whose welfare was a matter of deep 
interest to their grandfather. In the midst of the 
most anxious affairs of State, when he was presiding 
over turbulent Diets or warring beyond the Alps, 
Maximilian was always eager for news of " our very 
dear and well-beloved children." The arrangements 
of their household, the choice of their tutors and 
companions, their childish maladies and amusements, 
were all fully reported to him. One unlucky day, 
when the royal children had just recovered from 
measles, Madame Isabeau caught the smallpox, and 
gave it to Madame Marie. Then Madame Leonore 
complained of her head, and since Margaret had been 
told that the malady was very contagious, and especi- 
ally dangerous in winter, she felt it advisable to keep 
her nephew at Brussels out of reach of infection. But 
this precaution proved fruitless, for presently the boy 
sickened and became dangerously ill. Great was the 
alarm which his condition excited, and it was only 
at the end of three weeks that Margaret was able to 
inform the Emperor, who was in Italy fighting against 
the Venetians, that his grandson was out of danger.^ 

^ E. Le Glay, " Correspondance de TEmpereur Maximilien I. 
et de Marguerite d'Autriche," i. 203. 

2 



6 ISABELLA OF AUSTRL\ [Bk. I 

The education of Charles and his sisters was the 
subject of their guardian's most anxious consideration. 
A lady of Navarre, Dame Anne de Beaumont, took 
charge of the little girls from their infancy, and 
watched over them with a tenderness which earned 
their lifelong gratitude. The old King of Aragon 
rewarded this lady with the Order of S. I ago, while 
Margaret begged that she might be allowed to spend 
her old age in one of the Archduke's houses at Ghent, 
seeing that she had served " Mesdames mes nieces " so 
long and so well, and had been but poorly paid for 
her trouble. Among their teachers was Louis Vives, 
the learned friend of Erasmus, who afterwards be- 
came tutor to their cousin, the Princess Mary of 
England, and took Sir Thomas More's daughters as 
his models. Vives taught his pupils Greek and Latin, 
and made them study the Gospels, and St. Paul's 
Epistles, as well as some parts of the Old Testament. 
French romances, then so much in vogue, were ban- 
ished from their schoolroom, and the only tales 
which they were allowed to read were those of Joseph 
and his brethren, of the Roman matron Lucretia, 
and the well-known story of Griselda. Madame 
Leonore was fond of reading at a very early age, 
but Madame Isabeau was more occupied with her 
dolls, and is represented holding one in her arms 
in the triptych of Charles and his sisters at Vienna. 
All the children were very fond of music, in which 
they were daily instructed by the Archduchess's 
organist, and there is a charming portrait of Eleanor 
playing on the clavichord in Monsieur Cardon's collec- 
tion at Brussels. When, in 1 508, the Spanish Legate, 
Cardinal Carvajal, visited Mahnes, Charles and his 
sisters were confirmed by him in the palace chapel, 




ELEANOR OF AUSTRIA, QUEEN OF PORTUGAL AND FRANCE 

By Bernard van Orley (Cardon Collection) 



To face p. 6 



May, 1509] A SFORZA DUKE 7 

and the Archduke addressed a letter of thanks to 
Pope JuHus II. in his childish round hand. 

Margaret was careful to provide her young charges 
with suitable companions. A niece of Madame de 
Beaumont and a Spanish girl of noble birth were 
brought up with the Archduchesses, while the sons 
of the Marquis of Brandenburg and Duke of Saxe- 
Lauenburg were among Charles's playmates. Another 
youth whom the Emperor sent to be educated at 
Malines in 1509 was his godson, Maximilian Sforza, 
the eldest son of the unfortunate Duke Lodovico and 
Beatrice d'Este. While his younger brother, Fran- 
cesco, afterwards the husband of Christina of Den- 
mark, remained at Innsbruck with his cousin, the 
Empress Bianca, Maximilian grew up with Charles, 
and throughout his life never ceased to regard 
Margaret as a second mother. The young Duke of 
Milan's name often figures in the Archduchess's corre- 
spondence with her father. One day Maximilian 
tells her to borrow 3,000 livres from the Fuggers, and 
give them to the Duke, who has not enough to buy 
his own clothes, let alone those of his servants.^ 
At another time we find Margaret appealing to her 
father to settle the disputes of precedence which 
have arisen between the Dukes of Milan and Saxe- 
Lauenburg, upon which Maximilian replied that they 
were too young to think of such matters, and that 
for the present they had better take the place of 
honour on alternate days. 

It was a free and joyous life which these young 
Princes and Princesses led at the Court of Malines. 
If they were kept strictly to their lessons, they also 
had plenty of amusements. They played games, 

1 Le Glay, i. 393. 



8 ISABELLA OF AUSTRIA [Bk. I 

shot with bows and arrows, and looked on at stag- 
hunts from the balcony of the Swan, an old hostelry 
in the market-place. Charles had a little chariot, 
drawn by two ponies, in which he often drove his 
sisters through the town and out into the open 
country. Above all they enjoyed the visits which 
they paid to the Castle of Vueren, near Brussels, 
where Charles often went by his grandfather's orders 
to enjoy fresh air and take hunting expeditions. 
The old Emperor was delighted to hear of his 
grandson's taste for sport, and wrote from Augs- 
burg that, if the Archduke had not been fond of 
hunting, people would have suspected him of being 
a bastard.^ 

When, in 1 512, Maximilian came to Brussels, and 
Charles was sent to meet him, he begged Margaret to 
bring the three Princesses , without delay, to " amuse 
themselves in the park at Vueren," and sent the 
haunch of a stag which he had killed that day as a 
present to his " dear little daughters." At the 
children's urgent entreaty, the Emperor himself rode 
out to join them at supper, and invited them to a 
banquet in the palace at Brussels on Midsummer 
Day. When the English Ambassador, Sir Edward 
Poyriings, came to pay the Emperor his respects, he 
found His Majesty in riding-boots, standing at the 
palace gates, with the Lady Regent, the Lord Prince 
and his sisters, looking on at a great bonfire in the 
square. The Ambassador and his colleague, Spinelli, 
were both invited to return to the palace for supper, 
and had a long conversation with the Lady Margaret, 
in whom they found the same perfect friend as ever, 
" while the Prince and his sisters danced gaily with 
^ Le Glay, i. 241. 



June, 1512] " FELIX AUSTRIA l^UBE " 9 

the other young folk till between nine and ten 
o'clock." 1 

But this merry party was soon to break up. Before 
the end of the year Maximilian Sforza crossed the 
Brenner, and entered Milan amidst the acclamations 
of his father's old subjects, and eighteen months later 
two of the young Archduchesses were wedded to 
foreign Kings. 

II. 

While her nieces were still children Margaret was 
busy with plans for their marriage. Her views for 
them were ambitious and frankly expressed. " All 
your granddaughters," she wrote to her father, 
" should marry Kings." The old Emperor himself 
was an inveterate matchmaker, and the House of 
Austria had been proverbially fortunate in its alli- 
ances. Tu felix Austria nube had passed into a 
common saying. By his marriage with Mary of Bur- 
gundy, Maximihan entered on the vast inheritance of 
Charles the Bold, and his grandson was heir to the 
throne of Spain by right of his mother Juana. In 
1509 proposals for two of the Archduchesses came 
from Portugal, and Margaret urged her father to 
accept these offers, remarking shrewdly that King 
Emanuel was a wealthy monarch, and that there 
were few marriageable Princes in Europe. If both 
Madame Leonore and Madame Marie were betrothed 
to the two Portuguese Princes, there would still 
be two of her nieces to contract other alliances. 
But Maximilian's thoughts were too much occupied 
with his war against Venice to consider these pro- 
posals seriously, and the matter was allowed to 
^ Calendar of State Papers, Henry VIII., i. 369. 



lo ISABELLA OF AUSTRIA [Bk. I 

drop.* Meanwhile Madame Isabeau's hand was in great 
request. In March, 1510, Maximihan received offers 
of marriage for his second granddaughter from the 
King of Navarre's son, Henri d Albret, but this 
project was nipped in the bud by the jealousy of 
Isabella's other grandfather, Ferdinand of Aragon, 
and Francis I.'s sister, Margaret, Duchess of Alen9on, 
became Queen of Navarre in her stead. A new and 
strange husband for the nine-year-old Princess was 
now proposed by the Regent herself. This was none 
other than Charles of Egmont, Duke of Gu elders, the 
turbulent neighbour who had been a thorn in Mar- 
garet's side ever since she became Governess of the 
Netherlands. It is difficult to believe that Margaret 
ever really intended to give her beloved niece to the 
man whom she openly denounced as " a brigand and 
a felon," but it was necessary to cajole Guelders for 
the moment, and conferences were held in which 
every detail of the marriage treaty was discussed, 
and the dowry and fortune of the bride and the 
portions of her sons and daughters were all minutely 
arranged. But when the deputies of Guelders asked 
that Madame Isabeau should be given up to the Duke 
at once to be educated at his Court, the Regent met 
their demands with a flat refusal. The negotiations 
were broken off, and war began again .^ Another 
matrimonial project, which had been discussed ever 
since King Philip's lifetime, was the union of the 
Archduchess Eleanor with the young Duke Antoine 
of Lorraine. Maximilian seems to have been really 
eager for this marriage, which he regarded as a means 
of detaching a neighbouring Prince from the French 
alliance, but was so dilatory in the matter that 
^ Le Glay, i. 165. 2 Lg Glay, i. 281, 399-441. 



May, 1514] MARRIAGE-MAKING 11 

Margaret wrote him a sharp letter, asking him if he 
ever meant to marry his granddaughters. Upon this 
the affronted Emperor rebuked her for these undutiful 
remarks, and asked peevishly " if she held him for 
a Frenchman who changed his mind every day."^ 
But in spite of these protestations he took no further 
steps in the matter, and in 1515 Duke Antoine 
married Renee de Bourbon, a Princess of the blood 
royal of France. 

The marriage of Louis XII. to Henry VIII.'s hand- 
some sister Mary was a more serious blow. Six years 
before the English Princess had been wedded by proxy 
to the Archduke Charles, and Margaret, whose heart 
was set on this alliance, vainly pressed her father to 
conclude the treaty. Meanwhile, in January, 1514, 
Anne of Brittany died, and the widowed King sent 
offers of marriage, first to Margaret herself, and then 
to her niece Eleanor.^ A few months later news 
reached Brussels that Louis had made a treaty with 
Henry, and was about to wed the Princess Mary. 
So the Archduke lost his promised bride, and his 
sister was once more cheated of a husband. The 
Lady Regent was deeply hurt, but found some con- 
solation for her wounded feelings in the double 
marriage that was arranged in the course of the same 
year between the Archduke Ferdinand and Anna, 
daughter of Ladislaus, King of Hungary, and between 
this monarch's son Louis and the Archduchess Mary. 
In May, 15 14, the little Princess was sent to be 
educated with her future sister-in-law at Vienna, 
where the wedding was celebrated a year afterwards .^ 

^ Le Glay, ii. 205. 

2 H. Ulmann, " Kaiser Maximilian," ii. 484, 498. 

3 Le Glay, ii. 252 ; A. Henne, "Histoire du Regne de Charles V.," 
i. 96. 



12 ISABELLA OF AUSTRIA [Bk. I 

At the same time marriage proposals for another of 
his granddaughters reached Maximilian from a new 
and unexpected quarter. The young King of Den- 
mark, Christian II., on succeeding to the throne, 
declined the French marriage which had been arranged 
for him by his father, and conceived the ambitious 
design of allying himself with the Imperial Family. 
In March, 15 14, two Danish Ambassadors, the Bishop 
of Schleswig and the Court - Marshal Magnus Gioe, 
were introduced into Maximilian's presence by 
Christian's uncle, the Elector of Saxony, and asked 
for the Archduchess Eleanor's hand on behalf of their 
royal master. The prospect of an alliance with 
Denmark met with the Emperor's approval, and 
could not fail to be popular in the Low Countries as 
a means of opening the Baltic to the merchants of 
Bruges and Amsterdam. Accordingly the envoys 
met with a friendly reception, and were told that, 
although the elder Archduchess was already promised 
to the Duke of Lorraine, the Emperor would gladly 
give King Christian the hand of her sister Isabella. 
The contract was signed at Linz on the 29th of April, 
1 5 14, and the dowry of the Princess was fixed at 
250,000 florins, an enormous sum for those times. 
Only three-fifths of his sister's fortune, however, was 
to be paid by Charles, and the remainder by her 
grandfather, the King of Aragon.^ 

From Linz the Ambassadors travelled by slow 
stages to Brussels, where they were received with 
great honour. But Margaret was scarcely prepared 
for the proposal which they made, that the wedding 
might take place on the following day, when King 
Christian was to be crowned at Copenhagen. It was, 
^ Le Glay, ii. 383. 




ISABELLA OF AUSTRIA, QUEEN OF DENMARK 
By Bernard van Orley (Cardon Collection) 



To fate p. 12 



June, 15 14] A ROYAL WEDDING 13 

however, impossible to refuse such a request, and on 
Trinity Sunday, the nth of June, the marriage was 
solemnized with due splendour. At ten o'clock a 
brilHant assembly met in the great hall of the palace, 
which had been hung for the occasion with the famous 
tapestries of the Golden Fleece, and Magnus Gioe, 
who represented the King, appeared, supported by 
the Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg and the Marquis of 
Brandenburg. Presently a flourish of trumpets an- 
nounced the bride's coming, and Charles led in his 
sister, a tall, slender maiden of thirteen, robed in 
white, with a crown of pearls and rubies on her fair 
locks. " Madame Isabeau," as Margaret wrote with 
motherly pride to her father, " was certainly good to 
see." ^ They took their places under a baldacchino 
near the altar, followed by the Regent, who led her 
niece Eleanor by the hand. The Archbishop of 
Cambray, clad in rich vestments of purple and gold, 
performed the nuptial rites, and the Danish Ambassa- 
dor placed a costly ring, bearing three gold crowns 
set round with large sapphires and the motto Ave 
Maria gratia plena, on the finger of the bride, who 
plighted her faith in the following words : 

" Je, Isabelle d'Autriche et de Bourgogne, donne 
ma foi a tres hautt et tres puissant Prince et Seigneur, 
Christierne roy de Danemarck, et a toy Magnus Gioe, 
son vrai et leal procureur, et je le prens par toy en 
epoux et mari legitime." ^ 

Then the Mass of the Holy Ghost was chanted, the 
Spanish Ambassador being seated at the Archduke's 
side, and the others according to their rank, all but 
the English Envoy, who refused to be present owing 

^ Le Glay, ii. 256. 

2 J. Altmeyer, " Isabelle d'Autriche," 53. 



14 ISABELLA OF AUSTRIA [Bk. I 

to a dispute as to precedence. Afterwards the guests 
were entertained by the Regent at a banquet, followed 
by a tournament and a state ball, which was kept up 
far into the night. Finally all the chief personages 
present escorted the bride with lighted torches to her 
chamber, and Magnus Gice, in full armour, lay down 
on the nuptial bed at her side in the presence of this 
august company. Then, rising to his feet, he made 
a deep obeisance to the young Queen and retired. 
During the next three days a succession of jousts and 
banquets took place, and on the Feast of Corpus 
Christi a public reception was held in the palace, at 
which the bride appeared wearing the ring of the 
three kingdoms and a jewelled necklace sent her by 
King Christian. Unfortunately, the Archduke danced 
so vigorously on the night of the wedding that this 
unwonted exertion brought on a sharp attack of 
fever. 

" Monseigneur," wrote his aunt to the Emperor, 
" fulfilled all his duties to perfection, and showed 
himself so good a brother that he overtaxed his 
strength, and fell ill the day after the wedding. 
Not," she hastened to add, ** that his sickness is in any 
way serious, but that the slightest ailment in a 
Prince of his condition is apt to make one anxious."^ 

On the 4th of July the Danish Ambassadors took 
their leave, but Isabella remained in her home for 
another year. She and Eleanor shared in the fetes 
which celebrated the Archduke's coming of age, and 
were present at his Joyeuse Entree into Brussels. 
But in the midst of these festivities the Danish fleet, 
with the Archbishop of Drondtheim on board, arrived 
at Veeren in Zeeland, and on the i6th of July, 1515, 
^ Le Glay, ii. 257. 



Aug., 1515] EVIL OMENS , 15 

the poor young Queen took leave of her family with 
bitter tears, and sailed for Copenhagen. On the day 
of Isabella's christening, fourteen years before, the 
ceremony had been marred by a terrific thunderstorm, 
and now the same ill-luck attended her wedding 
journey. A violent tempest scattered the Danish 
fleet off the shores of Jutland, and the vessel which 
bore the Queen narrowly escaped shipwreck. When 
at length she had landed safely at Helsingfors, she 
wrote a touching little letter to the Regent : 

" Madame, my Aunt and good Mother, 

" I must tell you that we landed here last 
Saturday, after having been in great peril and distress 
at sea for the last ten days. But God kept me from 
harm, for which I am very thankful. Next Thursday 
we start for Copenhagen, which is a day's journey 
from here. I have been rather ill, and feel weak still, 
but hope soon to be well. Madame, if I could choose 
for myself I should be with you now ; for to be parted 
from you is the most grievous thing in the world to 
me, and the more so as I do not know when there is 
any hope of seeing you again. So I can only beg you, 
my dearest aunt and mother, to keep me in your 
heart, and tell me if there is anything that you wish 
me to do, and you shall always be obeyed, God helping 
me. That He may give you a lon^ and happy life is 
the prayer of your humble and dutiful niece 

" Isabeau.^ 

" August 7, 1515." 

Two days later Isabella continued her journey to 
Hvidore, the royal country-house near Copenhagen. 
There she was received by King Christian, who rode 
at her side, a splendid figure in gold brocade and 
shining armour, when on the following day she made 
her state entry into the capital in torrents of rain. 
On the 12th of August the wedding was celebrated 

^ Altmeyer, " Isabelle d'Autriche," 43. 



i6 ISABELLA OF AUSTRIA [Bk. I 

in the great hall of the ancient castle, which had been 
rebuilt by King Christian's father, and was followed 
by the coronation of the young Queen. But Isabella 
was so much exhausted by the fatigue which she had 
undergone , that before the conclusion of the ceremony 
she fell fainting into the arms of her ladies. Her 
illness threw a gloom over the wedding festivities, 
and seemed a forecast of the misfortunes that were 
to darken the course of her married life and turn her 
story into a grim tragedy. . 



BOOK II 

CHRISTIAN II., KING OF DENMARK, THE 
FATHER OF CHRISTINA 

1513— 1523 
I. 

Christian II., King of Denmark, Sweden, and Nor 
way, as the proud title ran, was in many respects a 
remarkable man. His life and character have been 
the subject of much controversy. Some historians 
have held him up to admiration as a patriot and 
martyr who suffered for his love of freedom and 
justice. Others have condemned him as a cruel and 
vindictive tyrant, whose crimes deserved the hard 
fate which befell him. Both verdicts are justified 
in the main. On the one hand, he was an able and 
enlightened ruler, who protected the liberties of his 
poorer subjects, encouraged trade and learning, and 
introduced many salutary reforms. On the other, 
he was a man of violent passions, crafty and un- 
scrupulous in his dealings, cruel and bloodthirsty in 
avenging wrongs. His career naturally invites com- 
parison with that of Lodovico Sforza, whose son 
became the husband of his daughter Christina. Both 
Princes were men of great ability and splendid 
dreams. In their zeal for the promotion of commerce 
and agriculture, in their love of art and letters, both 
were in advance of the age in which they lived. 

17 



i8 CHRISTIAN II., KING OF DENMARK [Bk.ii 

Again, their vices and crimes, the cunning ways and 
unscrupulous measures by which they sought to 
attain their ends, were curiously the same. No 
doubt Christian II., born and bred as he was among 
the rude Norsemen, belonged to a coarser strain than 
the cultured Duke of Milan, and is hardly to be judged 
by the same standard. But the two Princes resembled 
each other closely, and the fate which eventually 
overtook them was practically the same. Both of 
these able and distinguished men lost their States in 
the prime of life, and were doomed to end their days 
in captivity. This cruel doom has atoned in a great 
measure for their guilt in the eyes of posterity, and 
even in their lifetime their hard fate aroused general 
compassion. 

Certainly no one could have foreseen the dismal 
fate which lay in store for Christian II. when he 
ascended the throne. Seldom has a new reign opened 
with fairer promise. His father, good King Hans, 
died in 15 13, lamented by all his subjects, and leaving 
his successor a prosperous and united kingdom. 
Christian was thirty- two, and had already shown his 
courage and ability in quelling a revolt in Norway. 
A man of noble and commanding presence, with blue 
eyes and long fair hair, he seemed a born leader of 
men, while his keen intelligence, genial manners, and 
human interest in those about him, early won the affec- 
tion of his subjects. Unfortunately his own passions 
proved his worst enemies. In Norway he had fallen 
in love with a beautiful girl named Dyveke — the Dove 
— ^whose mother, a designing Dutchwoman named 
Sigebritt Willems, kept a tavern at Bergen. On his 
accession he brought Dyveke and her mother to 
Hvidore, and gave them a house in the neighbour- 



Jan., i5i6] THE KING'S DOVE 19 

hood. This illicit connection excited great scandal 
at Court, and the Chancellor, Archbishop Walkendorf 
of Drondtheim, exhorted the King earnestly to put 
away his mistress on his marriage. Even before 
Isabella left Brussels, the Archbishop wrote glowing 
accounts of her beauty and goodness to his master, 
and told the King of the romantic attachment which 
she cherished for her unknown lord. After her arrival 
at Copenhagen he did his utmost to insure her com- 
fort, and see that she was treated with proper respect. 
For a time Christian seems to have been genuinely 
in love with his young wife, whose innocent charm 
won all hearts in her new home. In his anxiety to 
please her, he furnished his ancestral castle anew, 
and sent to Germany for musicians, fearing that the 
rude voices of Danish singers might sound harsh in 
her ears. A young Fleming, Cornelius Scepperus, 
was appointed to be his private secretary, and the 
Fuggers of Antwerp were invited to found a bank at 
Copenhagen. At the same time twenty-four Dutch 
families, from Waterland in Holland, were brought 
over in Danish ships, and induced to settle on the 
island of Amager, opposite the capital, in order that 
the royal table might be supplied with butter and 
cheese made in the Dutch fashion. This colony, 
imported by Christian II., grew and flourished, and 
to this day their descendants occupy Amager, where 
peasant women clad in the national costume of 
short woollen skirts, blue caps, and red ribbons, are 
still to be seen. Unfortunately, the influence which 
Sigebritt and her daughter had acquired over the King 
was too strong to be resisted. Before long they re- 
turned to Court, and, to the indignation of Isabella's 
servants, Sigebritt was appointed Mistress of her 



20 CHRISTIAN IL, KING OF DENMARK [Bk.ii 

household. Rumours of the shghts to which the 
young Queen was exposed soon reached the Nether- 
lands, and when Maximilian informed Margaret that 
he intended to marry her niece Eleanor to the King 
of Poland, she replied with some asperity that she 
could only hope the marriage would turn out better 
than that of her unhappy sister. The Emperor 
expressed much surprise at these words, saying that 
he considered his granddaughter to be very well 
married, since the King of Denmark was a monarch 
of the proudest lineage, and endowed with noble 
manners and rare gifts, if his people were still some- 
what rude and barbarous.^ But, in spite of Maxi- 
milian's protests, the reports of King Christian's mis- 
conduct soon became too persistent to be ignored. 
When, in October, 1516, Charles, who had assumed 
the title of King of Spain on his grandfather Ferdi- 
nand's death, held his first Chapter of the Golden 
Fleece, the Knights with one accord refused to admit 
the King of Denmark to their Order, because he was 
accused of adultery and illtreated his wife.^ At 
length Maximilian was moved to take action, and 
wrote to his grandson Charles in sufficiently plain 
language, saying : 

" The shameful life which our brother anc^ son-in- 
law, the King of Denmark, is leading with a concubine, 
to the great sorrow and vexation of his wife, our 
daughter and your sister, is condemned by all his 
relatives ; and in order to constrain him to abandon 
this disorderly way of living, and be a better husband 
to our said daughter, we are sending Messire Sigismund 
Herbesteiner to remonstrate with him, and have 
begged Duke Frederic of Saxony, his uncle, who 

^ Le Glay, ii. 336. 

2 De Reiffenberg, " Histoire de I'Ordre de la Toison d'Or, "307. 



1513-23] ELEANOR'S ROMANCE 21 

arranged the marriage, to send one of his servants on 
the same errand. And we desire you to send one of 
your chief councillors to help carry out our orders, 
and induce the King to put away his concubine and 
behave in a more reasonable and honourable 
manner."^ 

But none of these remonstrances produced any 
effect on the misguided King. When Herbesteiner 
reproached him with sacrificing the laws of God and 
honour and the Emperor's friendship to a low-born 
woman, he shook his fist in the imperial Envoy's face, 
and bade him begone from his presence.^ At the 
same time he showed his resentment in a more 
dangerous way by making a treaty with France and 
closing the Sound to Dutch ships. He even seized 
several trading vessels on pretence that the Queen's 
dowry had not been paid, and when Archbishop 
Walkendorf ventured to expostulate with him on 
his misconduct, banished the prelate from Court.^ 

Meanwhile Isabella herself bore neglect and insults 
with the same uncomplaining sweetness. But we see 
how much she suffered from a private letter which 
she wrote to her sister Eleanor about this time. 
This attractive Princess, who at the age of eighteen 
still remained unmarried, had fallen in love with her 
brother's brilliant friend, Frederic, Count Palatine, 
the most accomplished knight at Court, and the idol 
of all the ladies. The mutual attachment between 
the Palatine and the Archduchess was the talk of the 
whole Court, and met with Margaret's private ap- 
proval, although it was kept a secret from Charles and 
his Ministers. Eleanor confided this romantic story 

1 Le Glay, ii. 337. 

2 L. Van Bergh, " Correspondance de Mt d'Autriche," ii. 135. 
^ Ulinann, ii. 510. 

3 



22 CHRISTIAN II., KING OF DENMARK [Bk. ll 

to her absent sister, and expressed a secret hope 
that the popular Count Palatine might succeed her 
aunt as Regent when the young King left Brussels 
for Spain. In reply Isabella sent Eleanor the 
warmest congratulations on her intended marriage, 
rejoicing that her sister at least would not be forced 
to leave home, and would be united to a husband 
whom she really loved. The poor young Queen pro- 
ceeded to lament her own sad fate in the following 
strain : 

" It is hard enough to marry a man whose face you 
have never seen, whom you do not know or love, and 
worse still to be required to leave home and kindred, 
and foflow a stranger to the ends of the earth, without 
even being able to speak his language."^ 

She goes on to describe the misery of her life, even 
though she bears the title of Queen. What is she, in 
fact, but a prisoner in a foreign land ? She is never 
allowed to go out or appear in public, while her lord 
the King spends his time in royal progresses and 
hunting-parties, and amuses himself after his fashion, 
apart from her. Far better would it be for Eleanor 
to follow her own inclination, and choose a husband 
who belongs to her own country and speaks her 
language, even if he were not of kingly rank. Un- 
fortunately, the pretty romance which excited Isa- 
bella's sympathy was doomed to an untimely end. 
The death of Mary of Castille, Queen of Portugal, in 
May, 1 517, left King Emanuel a widower for the 
second time. He had married two of Charles's aunts 
in turn, and was now over fifty, and a hunchback 
into the bargain. None the less, the plan of a 

^ Hubertus Leodius Thomas, " Spiegel des Humors grosser 
Potentaten," 79. E. Moeller, " Eleonore d'Autriche," 307. 



1513-23] A LOVE-LETTER 23 

marriage between him and his niece Eleanor was now 
revived, and in August these proposals reached the 
young King at the seaport of Middelburg, where he 
and his sister were awaiting a favourable wind to set 
sail for Spain. Filled with alarm, Frederic implored 
Eleanor to take a bold step, confess her love to Charles, 
and seek his consent to her marriage with his old 
friend. In a letter signed with his name, and still 
preserved in the Archives of Simancas, the Palatine 
begged his love to lose no time if she would escape 
from the snare laid for them both by "the Uncle of 
Portugal." 

" Ma mignonne," he wrote, " si vous voulez, nous 
pouvez etre la cause de mon bien ou de mon mal. 
C'est pourquoi je vous supplie d'avoir bon courage 
pour vous et pour moi. Cela peut se faire si vous 
voulez. Car je suis pret, et ne demande autre chose, 
sinon que je sois a vous, et vous a moi."^ 

Accordingly, on the Feast of the Assumption 
Eleanor approached her brother after hearing Mass in 
the abbey chapel. But while she was gathering all 
her courage to speak, Charles caught sight of the 
Palatine's letter in her bosom, and, snatching it from 
his sister's hands, broke into furious reproaches, 
swearing that he would avenge this insult with the 
traitor's blood. As SpineUi, the Enghsh Envoy, 
remarked, " The letter was but honest, concerning 
matters of love and marriage,"^ but the young King 
would listen to no excuses, and, in spite of the Regent's 
intervention, Frederic was banished from Court in 
disgrace. A fortnight later Charles and his sister 

1 Moeller, 327. L. Mignet, " Rivalite de Francis I. et 
Chcirles V.," i. 140. 

2 Calendar of State Papers, Henry VIII., ii. 2, 1 151 . H. Baum- 
garten, " Geschichte Karl V.," i. 58. 



24 CHRISTIAN II., KING OF DENMARK [Bk.ii 

sailed for Castille, and in the following summer 
Madame Leonore became the bride of " I'Oncle de 
Portugal," King Emanuel. 



II. 

The death of Christian II.'s mistress, Dyveke, in 
the summer of 1517 produced a change in the situation 
at Copenhagen. This unfortunate girl, a victim of 
her ambitious mother's designs, died very suddenly 
one afternoon after eating cherries in the royal 
gardens. The King's suspicions fell on his steward, 
Torben Axe, who was brutally put to death in spite 
of his protestations of innocence. But the Queen's 
position was distinctly improved. Christian now 
treated his wife with marked kindness, and appointed 
her Regent when, early in the following year, he went 
to Sweden to put down a rising of the nobles. 
Sigebritt Willems's influence, however, still remained 
paramount, and, in a letter to the Queen from Sweden, 
Christian begged her to consult the Dutchwoman in 
any difficulty, and ended by wishing her and " Mother 
Sigebritt " a thousand good-nights. Stranger still to 
relate, when, on the 21st of February, Isabella gave 
birth to a son, the infant Prince was entrusted to 
Sigebritt 's care. 

This happy event, combined with Isabella's un- 
failing affection for her wayward lord, led to improved 
relations between Christian and his wife's family 
After the death of Maximilian, Charles became anxious 
to secure his brother-in-law's support in the imperial 
election, and in February, 15 19, a treaty was con- 
cluded between the two monarchs at Brussels .^ 

^ Henne, ii. 249. 



I5I3-23J BIRTH OF PRINCES 25 

The Danish Envoys, Anton de Metz and Hermann 
Willems, Sigebritt's brother, received rich presents 
from Margaret, who was once more acting as Regent 
of the Netherlands, and she even sent a silver-gilt 
cup to the hated Dutchwoman herself.^ A month 
later the King of Denmark was elected Knight of the 
Golden Fleece at a Chapter of the Order held at 
Barcelona, and in a letter which Charles addressed to 
him he expressed his pleasure at hearing good accounts 
of his sister and little nephew, and promised to pay 
the arrears of Isabella's dowry as soon as possible .^ 

On the 28th of June, 1 5 19, Charles was elected King 
of the Romans, and the formal announcement of his 
election was brought to Barcelona by Eleanor's 
rejected suitor, the Palatine Frederic, whom he re- 
ceived with open arms. A few days after this 
auspicious event the Queen of Denmark, on the 4th of 
July, 1519, gave birth to twin sons, who received the 
names of Philip and Maximilian. Both, however, 
died within a week of their baptism, upon which 
Sigebritt is said to have remarked that this was a 
good thing, since Denmark was too small a realm to 
support so many Princes. 

With the help of Dutch ships and gold, Christian 
succeeded in subduing the Swedish rebels, and was 
crowned with great solemnity in the Cathedral of 
Upsala on the 4th of November, 1520. But the 
rejoicings on this occasion were marred by the execu- 
tion of ninety Swedish nobles and two Bishops, who 
were treacherously put to death by the King's orders. 
This act, which earned for Christian the title of the 

^ Archives du Royaume : Bruxelles Registre des Revenus et 
Depenses de Charles V., ii. 72. 
2 J. Altmeyer, 46. 



26 CHRISTIAN II., KING OF DENMARK [Bk.ii 

Nero of the North, is said to have been instigated by 
Sigebritt and her nephew Slagbok, a Westphalian 
barber, who had been raised from this low estate to 
be Archbishop of Lunden. The insolent conduct of 
these evil counsellors naturally increased the King's 
unpopularity in all parts of the kingdom. Yet at 
the same time Christian II. showed himself to be an 
excellent and enlightened ruler. He administered 
justice strictly, and introduced many salutary re- 
forms. 

The common practice of buying and selling serfs was 
prohibited. Burgomasters and Town Councils were 
appointed to carry out the laws, and a system of 
tolls and customs was established. Schools and hos- 
pitals were founded, inns were opened in every town 
and village for the convenience of travellers, piracy 
and brigandage were sternly repressed. An Act was 
passed ordering that all cargoes recovered from 
wrecks were to be placed in the nearest church, and, 
if not claimed by the end of the year, divided between 
the Crown and the Church. When the Bishops 
complained of the loss thus inflicted on them, the 
King told them to go home and learn the Eighth 
Commandment. Still greater was the opposition 
aroused when he attempted to reform clerical abuses. 
Early in life Christian showed strong leanings towards 
the doctrines of Luther, and on his return from 
Sweden he asked his uncle, the Elector of Saxony, 
to send him a Lutheran preacher from Wittenberg. 
Although these efforts at proselytizing met with little 
success, the King openly professed his sympathy with 
the new Gospel. He had the Bible translated into 
Danish, bade the Bishops dismiss their vast house- 
holds, issued edicts allowing priests to marry, and 



1513-23] BIRTH OF DOROTHEA 27 

ordered the begging friars to stay at home and earn 
their bread by honest labour.^ 

All these reforms could not be effected without 
vigorous opposition, and the discontent among the 
nobles and clergy became every day more active. In 
the spring of 1521 a young Swedish noble, Gustavus 
Wasa, raised the standard of revolt in Dalecarlia, and 
led his peasant bands against Stockholm. Upon this 
Christian decided to pay a visit to the Low Countries 
to meet the new Emperor, who was coming to be 
crowned at Aix-la-Chapelle, and seek his help against 
the citizens of Liibeck and the Swedish rebels. The 
government was once more placed in the hands of 
Isabella. A few months before this, on the loth of 
November, 1520, while Christian was absent in 
Sweden, the Queen had given birth to a daughter, 
named Dorothea after the King's grandmother, the 
able and ambitious Princess of Brandenburg, who 
married two Kings of Denmark in succession. Now 
she followed her husband with wistful thoughts as he 
started on his journey, attended only by his Chamber- 
lain, Anton de Metz, and three servants, and rode all 
the way to her old home in the Netherlands. 

On the 20th of June nine Danish ships sailed into the 
port of Antwerp , and a few days afterwards Christian 1 1 . 
rode into the town. His fine presence and the courage 
which he had shown in riding through Germany with 
this small escort excited general admiration. 

" I noted," wrote Albert Diirer in his Journal, 
" how much the people of Antwerp marvelled at the 
sight of this manly and handsome Prince, who had 
come hither through his enemies' country, with these 
few attendants."^ 

^ F. Dahlmann, " Geschichte von Danemark," iii. 359. 
2 M. Conway, " Literary Remains of Albert Diirer," 124. 



28 CHRISTIAN II., KING OF DENMARK [Bk.ii 

The Nuremberg master had been spending the 
winter in the Low Countries, paying his respects to 
the Regent at MaHnes, and conversing with Erasmus 
of Rotterdam and Lucas van Leyden. He was 
starting on his journey home, when, on the Feast 
of the Visitation, he was sent for by the King of 
Denmark, who received him very graciously, and 
asked him to dine at his table and to take his portrait. 
So great was the interest which Christian showed in 
the painter's work, that Diirer gave him a fine set 
of his prints, which are still preserved in the museum 
at Copenhagen, and accepted an invitation to accom- 
pany him to Brussels the next day. Thus Albert 
Diirer was a witness of the meeting between Christian 
and his brother-in-law Charles V., who had just arrived 
from his coronation at Aix-la-Chapelle, and had been 
received with great rejoicing by his subjects. At 
five that summer evening Charles rode out from 
Brussels at the head of a brilliant cavalcade, and 
met his royal brother-in-law in a meadow, where 
they embraced each other and conversed with the 
help of an interpreter. Christian speaking in German, 
and Charles in French. They entered Brussels after 
sunset, and found the streets hung with tapestries 
and lighted with innumerable torches and bonfires. 
The Emperor escorted Christian to the Count of 
Nassau's palace on the top of the hill, which Diirer 
describes as the finest house that he had ever seen. 
The next morning Charles brought his guest to the 
palace gates, where the Regent and Germaine de 
Foix, King Ferdinand's widow, were awaiting them, 
and for the first time Margaret came face to face 
with her niece's husband. Christian kissed the two 
ladies in French fashion, and after dinner the two 



1513-23] KING CHRISTIAN AT BRUSSELS 29 

Princes spent the evening dancing with the Court 
ladies. 

" Now," wrote the Venetian Ambassador, Gaspare 
Contarini, " at two hours after dark, they are still 
dancing, for young monarchs such as these are not 
easily tired." ^ 

The impression which the Danish King made on the 
learned Italian was very favourable. He describes 
him as a fine-looking Prince, with an earnest, ani- 
mated expression, long locks, and a beard curled after 
the ItaUan fashion. In his black satin doublet, 
Spanish cloak, and jewelled cap, he looked every 
inch a King. On the Sunday after his arrival 
Christian entertained the Emperor, the Lady Mar- 
garet, and the Queen-Dowager of Spain, at dinner. 
Albert Diirer was present on this occasion, and was 
afterwards employed to paint a portrait of the King 
in oils, for which Christian gave him thirty florins, 
an act of liberality which contrasted favourably with 
Margaret's parsimony. " The Lady Margaret in par- 
ticular," remarks the painter in his Journal, " gave 
me nothing for what I made and presented to her." 
Another personage in whose society the King took 
pleasure was Erasmus, who discussed the reform of 
the Church with him, and was much struck by the 
monarch's enlightened opinions. On the 12th of July 
Christian accompanied his brother-in-law to Antwerp, 
to lay the foundations of the new choir of Our Lady's 
Church, and went on to Ghent, where he paid formal 
homage for the duchy of Holstein, and was confirmed 
in his rights over the Hanse towns, but could not 
persuade Charles to join him in making war on the 
friendly citizens of Llibeck. At Ghent the King 

^ Venetian State Papers, iii. 139. 



30 CHRISTIAN IL, KING OF DENMARK [Bk.ii 

sent for the English Ambassador, Sir Robert Wingfield, 
with whom he had a long and friendly conversation, 
expressing great anxiety to meet King Henry VIII. 
In reply, Wingfield told him that he would soon have 
the opportunity of seeing the English monarch's 
powerful Minister, Cardinal Wolsey, to whom he 
could speak as frankly as to the King himself,^ 
Accordingly, on the 5th of August Christian accom- 
panied Charles and Margaret to the Prinzenhof at 
Bruges, where Wolsey joined them a week later. 
The regal state of the English Cardinal formed a 
striking contrast to the King's simplicity. He arrived 
with a train of over a thousand followers, clad in 
red satin, and twenty English nobles, wearing gold 
chains, walked at his horse's side. On Sunday he 
rode to Mass with the Emperor, and dined with Charles 
and Margaret, " praising the delicate and sumptuous 
manner " in which he was entertained. When the 
King of Denmark sent to ask him to come to his 
lodgings, the Cardinal demurred, saying that, as he 
represented His Majesty of England, the King must 
be the first to visit him, but that if Christian preferred 
he would meet him in the palace garden. Christian, 
however, waived ceremony, and called on Wolsey the 
next morning. The interview was a very friendly 
one. Christian expressed his anxiety to enter into a 
close alliance with England, and begged King Henry 
to be a good uncle to his young kinsman, James V. of 
Scotland. Wolsey on his part was much impressed 
by the King's good sense and peaceable intentions. 

" Surely, Sir," he wrote to his royal master, " the 
King of Denmark, though in appearance he should 
be judged to be a rash man, yet he is right wise, sober, 

^ Calendar of State Papers, Henry VIII., iii. 2, 555, 561, 582. 




CHRISTIAN II., KING OF DENMARK 



To face p. 30 



1513-23] REVOLT IN DENMARK 31 

and discreet, minding the establishing of good peace 
betwixt Christian Princes, wherein he right substanti- 
ally declared his mind to me at good length."^ 

But the next day the King sent the Cardinal word 
that he had received such bad news from his own 
country that he must return without delay. He 
actually left Bruges that day, and was escorted to the 
city gates by the Papal Nuncio Caracciolo and Con- 
tarini, who took leave of the King, and returned to 
dine with Erasmus and his English friend, Messer 
Toma Moro.^ Unfortunately, Christian's visit to 
the Low Countries produced no good result, and there 
was some justification for the Imperial Chancellor's 
cynical remark: " It would have been better to keep 
the King here, where he can do no harm, than to let 
him go home to make fresh mischief."^ He left 
Bruges dissatisfied with the Emperor, and on reaching 
Copenhagen his first act was to dismiss the Queen's 
confessor, Mansueri. When the Emperor begged 
him to leave his sister free in matters of conscience, 
he broke into a passionate fit of rage, tore the Golden 
Fleece from his neck, and trampled it underfoot, 
cursing his meddlesome brother-in-law. What was 
worse, he seized several Dutch ships in the Sound, 
and drew upon himself the serious displeasure of the 
Regent and her Council. 

Meanwhile Gustavus Wasa had laid siege to Stock- 
holm, and there was a rising in Jutland. A Papal 
Legate arrived at Copenhagen to inquire into the 
judicial murder of the Swedish Bishops and demand 
the punishment of Slagbok. The unfortunate Arch- 

^ Calendar of State Papers, Henry VIII., iii. 2, 614. 

2 Venetian State Papers, iii. 162. 

3 Calendar of State Papers, Henry VIII., iii. 2, 576. 



32 CHRISTIAN II., KING OF DENMARK [Bk.ii 

bishop was made a scapegoat, and put to death in 
January, 1522. Stones were thrown at Sigebritt 
when she drove out in the royal carriage, and one day 
she was thrown into a pond by some peasants, and 
only rescued with difficulty. Even Christian began 
to realize the danger of the situation, and wrote to 
Isabella from Jutland, begging her to " bid Mother 
Sigebritt hold her tongue, and not set foot outside 
the castle, if she wished him to return home alive." 
In another letter, written on the 4th of February, 
1522, from the Convent of Dalin, the King congratu- 
lates his wife on her safe deliverance, and the birth 
of " a marvellously handsome child." ^ This is the 
only intimation we have of the birth of Isabella's 
second daughter, Christina. The exact date is not 
to be found in the Danish archives, and has hitherto 
eluded all research. The child who saw the light in 
these troubled times received the name of Christina 
from her grandmother, the Queen-Dowager of Den- 
mark, a Princess of Saxon birth, who still resided at 
King Hans's favourite palace of Odensee. All we know 
of Queen Christina is that, on the 2nd of April, 15 15, 
two years after her husband's death, she addressed 
an urgent prayer to King Henry VIII., begging him 
to send her a relic of St. Thomas of Canterbury .^ 
We are not told if a phial containing a drop of the 
saint's blood was sent to Denmark in response to 
this entreaty, but the request is of interest as a proof 
of the Enghsh martyr's widespread renown. 

A few weeks after the birth of her little daughter 
Isabella wrote a touching appeal to her aunt, im- 
ploring the Regent's help against the Danish rebels : 

1 Altmeyer, 23. Reedtz Manuscripts, xiii. 28. 

2 Calendar of State Papers, Henry VIII., ii. 191. 



1513-23] CHRISTIAN II. DEPQSED 33 

" We have sad news from my lord in Jutland. 
The nobles there have rebelled against him, and seek 
to deprive him and our children of their crown and 
their lives. So we entreat you to come to our help, 
that we may chastise these rebels."^ 

Anton de Metz was sent to Brussels on the same 
errand, but could obtain small hopes of assistance. 
The Regent's Council complained that King Christian 
had damaged the trade of the Low Countries and ill- 
treated their sailors, and the temper of the Court was 
reflected in Sir Robert Wingfield's despatches to 
England. 

" The Easterlings," remarked the Ambassador, 
" handle the King of Denmark roughly, and his own 
people are said to have killed the Woman of Holland, 
who was mother to his Dove, as the King's mistress 
was called, whereby it appeareth that ill life and like 
governance often cometh to a bad end."^ 

King Christian's affairs, as Wingfield truly said, 
were in an evil plight. In June Stockholm sur- 
rendered to Gustavus Wasa, and the citizens of Liibeck 
sent a fleet to burn Helsingfors and threaten Copen- 
hagen, To add to the unfortunate King's difficulties, 
his uncle Frederic, Duke of Holstein, who had always 
nursed a grievance against his elder brother, the late 
King Hans, now took up a hostile attitude, and 
made common cause with the rebels. On the 20th of 
January, 1523, the nobles of Jutland met at Viborg, 
deposed Christian II. formally, and elected his uncle 
Frederic to be King in his stead. In vain Christian 
endeavoured to raise fresh forces, and sent desperate 
appeals to his kinsfolk in the Low Countries and 
Germany, and to his allies in England and Scotland. 

* Altmeyer, " Isabelle d'Autriche," 23. 

2 Calendar of State Papers, Henry VIII., iii, 2, 1086. 



34 CHRISTIAN II., KING OF DENMARK [Bk.ii 

Margaret replied curtly that the Emperor himself 
needed all the men and ammunition that could be 
obtained in those parts. The young King of Scot- 
land's Chancellor, the Archbishop of Glasgow, sent 
a sympathetic message, regretting that the enmity of 
England prevented him from helping King Christian 
against his rebel subjects. When the Dean of 
Roskild appeared in London with a letter from the 
Danish monarch, begging King Henry to induce 
Margaret to help him against the Easterlings, Wolsey 
sent a splendid barge to conduct the Ambassador to 
Greenwich, but gave him little encouragement beyond 
fair words. " So I hope," wrote Sir Robert Wingfield, 
who , in spite of Christian's civilities at Ghent, had little 
pity for him, " that this wicked King will fail."^ 

The unhappy monarch was at his wits' end. Yet 
many of his subjects were still loyal. The bulk of the 
middle and lower classes, the burghers, artisans, and 
country-folk, looked on him as their best friend; and 
when he appeared at the fair of Ringsted, a thousand 
strong arms were raised, and a thousand lusty voices 
swore fealty to Christian, the peasants' King. Copen- 
hagen was strongly fortified, and as long as he stayed 
there he was safe from his foes. But an unaccount- 
able panic seized him. Whether, as in the case of 
Lodovico Sforza, whom he resembled in so many 
ways, remorse for past crimes enfeebled his will, or 
whether his nerves gave way, he could not summon 
up courage to meet his foes, and decided to fly. A 
fleet of twenty ships was equipped, fully suppHed 
with arms and ammunition, and laden with the crown 

^ Calendar of State Papers, Henry VIII., iii. 2, 1189. Alt- 
meyer, " Relations Commer dales du Danemark at des Pays- 
bas," 105. 



1513-23] FLIGHT OF THE ROYAL FAMILY 35 

jewels, archives, and treasures. The Queen and her 
young children — the five-year-old Prince John, the 
two httle Princesses, Dorothea and Christina (a babe 
of fifteen months) — went on board the finest vessel of 
the fleet, the Great Mary, and Mother Sigebritt was 
hidden in a chest to save her from the fury of the 
people, who regarded her as the chief cause of the 
King's unpopularity. But the greatest compassion 
was felt for Isabella and her innocent babes; and 
even the usurper Frederic wrote to beg the Queen 
to remain in Denmark, assuring h'er that she and her 
children would be perfectly safe. On the 14th of 
April the fleet set sail. An immense crowd as- 
sembled on the ramparts to see the last of the royal 
family. The King made a farewell speech, exhorting 
the garrison to remain loyal to his cause, and promis- 
ing to return in three months with reinforcements. 
Then the ships weighed anchor, and neither Isabella 
nor her children ever saw the shores of Denmark 
again. 



BOOK III 

KINGS IN EXILE 
1523— 1531 

I. 

The troubles of the Danish royal family were not 
over when they left Copenhagen. A violent storm 
scattered the fleet in the North Sea, and drove several 
of the ships on the Norwegian coast, where many of 
them were lost with all their cargo. The remaining 
eleven or twelve ships entered the harbour of Veeren, 
in Walcheren, on the ist of May. Here the King and 
Queen were kindly received by Adolf of Burgundy, 
the Admiral of the Dutch fleet, who kept them for a 
week in his own house, and then escorted them to the 
Regent's Court at Malines. Margaret welcomed her 
niece with all her old affection, and took her and the 
royal children into her own house. But she met the 
King's prayer for help coldly, saying that it was 
beyond her power to give him either men or money. 
The moment, it is true, was singularly unpropitious. 
Not only were all the Emperor's resources needed to 
carry on his deadly struggle with France, but nearer 
home the Regent was engaged in a fierce conflict 
with her old enemy, Charles of Guelders, for the 
possession of Friesland. As Adolf of Burgundy wrote 
to Wolsey: " We need help so much ourselves that 

36 



1523-31] VISIT TO LONDON 37 

we are hardly in condition to help others." ^ Christian 
soon realized this, and determined to apply to 
Henry VIII., relying on his former assurances of 
brotherly affection, and feeling confident of Wolsey's 
support. The scheme met with Margaret's approval, 
and, since Isabella had only brought one Dutch maid 
and the children's nurses from Copenhagen, the 
Regent lent her several ladies, in order that she 
might appear in due state at the English Court .^ 

On the 5th of June the King and Queen left Malines 
with a suite of eighty persons and fifty horses, and, 
after waiting some time at Calais to hear the latest 
news from Denmark, crossed the Channel, and reached 
Greenwich on the 19th. Wolsey had already told 
the Imperial Ambassador, De Praet, that the King 
of Denmark would receive little encouragement from 
his master, and had expressed a hope that he would 
not give them the trouble of coming to England. 
He met the royal travellers, however, at the riverside, 
and conducted them to the palace, where they dined 
in the great hall with the King on the following day, 
Henry leading Christian by the hand, and Queen 
Katherine following with Isabella and her sister-in- 
law, Mary, Duchess of Suffolk, the widow of 
Louis XII., who was still known as la Reine blanche. 
From Greenwich the King and Queen of Denmark 
moved to Bath Place, where they were lodged at 
Henry's expense. Katherine welcomed her great-niece 
with motherly affection, but both Henry and Wolsey 
told Christian plainly that he had made a fatal mis- 
take in deserting his loyal subjects, and advised him to 
return at once and encourage them by his presence 

^ Calendar of State Papers, iii. 2, 1270. 

2 Altmeyer, " Relations Commerciales," 108. 

4 



38 KINGS IN EXILE [Bk. Ill 

All the English monarch would do was to send Envoys 
to Denmark to urge the usurper Frederic and his 
supporters to return to their allegiance. 

" For," as Henry himself wrote to the Emperor, 
" this perfidity of the King's subjects is a most fatal 
example, if for the most trifling cause a Prince is to 
be called in question, and expelled and put from his 
crown." ^ 

The futility of these measures was evident to 
De Praet, who wrote to Charles at Toledo, saying 
that unless he took up the exiled monarch's cause for 
his sister's sake he would never recover his kingdom. 
Copenhagen was now besieged by land and sea, and 
if the garrison were not relieved by Michaelmas they 
would be forced to surrender, and Christian's last 
hope would be gone. The King himself, De Praet 
owned, seemed little changed, and he advised the 
Emperor to insist on Sigebritt's removal before giving 
him any help. 

" Your Majesty," wrote the Ambassador, " ought 
first of all to have the Woman of Holland sought out 
and punished, an act which in my small opinion would 
acquire great merit in the eyes of both God and man."^ 

At Isabella's request, both Margaret and King Henry 
had spoken strongly to Christian on this subject, but 
he still persisted in his infatuation, and it was not 
till after he had left the Netherlands, and his wife and 
aunt were dead, that this miserable woman was 
arrested in Ghent and burnt as a witch .^ 

As for the Queen, no words could express De Praet's 
admiration for her angelic goodness. " It is indeed 

^ State Papers, Record Office, vi. 139, 155-158. Calendar of 
State Papers, iii. 2, 1293, 1329. 

2 J. Altraeyer, " Relations," etc., 108. 

^ D. Scliafer, " Geschichte von Danemark, iv. 26. 



1523-31] A NOBLE WIFE - 39 

grievous," he wrote, " to see this poor lady in so 
melancholy a plight, and I cannot marvel too much 
at her virtues and heroic patience." Henry was 
equally moved, and wrote to Charles in the warmest 
terms of his sister's noble qualities, but did not 
disguise his contempt for her husband.^ 

There was, clearly, nothing more to be gained by 
remaining in England, and on the 5th of July the King 
and Queen returned to the Low Countries. Isabella 
joined her children at Malines, and Christian went to 
Antwerp to equip ships for the relief of Copenhagen. 
But he soon quarrelled with Margaret, and left sud- 
denly for Germany. In September he appeared at 
Berlin, having ridden from Brussels attended by only 
two servants, and succeeded in raising a force of 
25,000 men, with the help of his brother-in-law, the 
Marquis of Brandenburg, and Duke Henry of Bruns- 
wick. But when the troops assembled on the banks 
of the Elbe, King Christian was unable to fulfil his 
promises or provide the money demanded by the 
leaders, and he was glad to escape with his life from 
the angry hordes of soldiers clamouring for pay. 
By the end of the year Copenhagen capitulated, and 
in the following August the usurper Frederic was 
elected King by the General Assembly, and solemnly 
crowned in the Frauenkirche.^ The crimes of the un- 
happy Christian recoiled on his own head, and in the 
Act of Deprivation by which he was formally deposed, 
it was expressly stated that his neglect of his noble 
and virtuous wife, and infatuation for the adventuress 
Sigebritt and her daughter, had estranged the hearts 
of his people. But through all these troubles Isabella 

^ State Papers, Record Office, viii. 141, 156. 

2 Altmeyer, " Relations," etc., 112; Schafer, iv. 44, 48. 



40 KINGS IN EXILE [Bk. iii 

clung to him with unchanging faithfulness. She 
followed him first to Berlin, then to Saxony, where 
he sought his uncle's help. In March she went to 
Nuremberg on a visit to her brother, King Ferdinand, 
and pleaded her husband and children's cause before 
the Diet in so eloquent a manner that the assembled 
Princes were moved to tears. 

" Everyone here," wrote Hannart, the minister 
whom Charles V. had sent to his sister's help, " is 
full of compassion for the Queen, but no one places 
the least trust in the King. If it were not for her 
sake, not a single man would saddle a horse on his 
behalf." 

Hannart, in fact, confessed that he had done his 
utmost to keep Christian away from Nuremberg, 
feeling sure that his presence would do more harm 
than good. Even Isabella's entreaties were of no 
avail. She begged her brother in vain for the loan of 
20,000 florins to satisfy the Duke of Brunswick, whose 
angry threats filled her with alarm. 

" I am always afraid some harm may happen to 
you when I am away," she wrote to her husband. 
" I long to join you, and would rather suffer at your 
side than live in comfort away from you."^ 

But Christian, as Hannart remarked in a letter to 
the Regent Margaret, had few friends. Even his 
servants did not attempt to deny the charges that 
were brought against him, and the Queen alone, like 
the loyal wife that she was, sought to explain and 
excuse his conduct. 

To add to Isabella's troubles, her brother Ferdinand 
was seriously annoyed at the leanings to the Lutheran 
faith which she now displayed. Christian's Protestant 

^ \ltnieyer, " Isabelle d'Autriche," 30. 



1523-31] MARTIN LUTHER 41 

tendencies had been greatly strengthened by his resi- 
dence in Saxony during the winter of 1523. He 
heard Luther preach at Wittenberg, and spent much 
time in his company, dining frequently with him and 
Spalatin, the Court chaplain, and making friends with 
the painter Lucas Cranach. The fine portrait of King 
Christian by this artist forms the frontispiece of a 
Danish version of the New Testament published by 
Hans Mikkelsen, the Burgomaster of Malmoe, who 
shared his royal master's exile. When the Marquis 
Joachim of Brandenburg remonstrated with his 
brother-in-law for his intimacy with the heretic Luther, 
Christian replied that he would rather lose all three of 
his kingdoms than forsake this truly Apostolic man.^ 
Isabella's naturally religious nature was deeply im- 
pressed by these new influences, and both she and 
her sister-in-law, Elizabeth of Brandenburg, secretly 
embraced the reformed doctrine. At Nuremberg 
she attended the sermons of the Lutheran doctor 
Osiander, and received Communion in both kinds 
from his hands on Maundy Thursday, to the great 
indignation of King Ferdinand, who told her he could 
not own a heretic as his sister. Isabella replied gently 
that if he cast her off God would take care of her. 
Luther on his part was moved by the apparent 
sincerity of his royal convert. 

" Strange indeed are the ways of God !" he wrote 
to Spalatin. " His grace penetrates into the most 
unlikely places, and may even bring this rare wild 
game, a King and Queen, safely into the heavenly 
net."2 

^ " Relations," etc., 126; C. Forstemann, " Neues Urkunden- 
buch z. Geschichte d. Reformation," i. 269. 

2 J. Kostlin, " Leben Luthers," i. 66; C. Forstemann, i. 
169. 



42 KINGS IN EXILE [Bk. iii 

While Luther addressed a strong remonstrance to 
the newly-elected King of Denmark and the citizens 
of Liibeck, Christian's Chancellor, Cornelius Scepperus, 
drew up an eloquent memorial to Pope Clement VII. 
on the exiled King's behalf, and travelled to Spain to 
seek the Emperor's help. By Hannart's exertions a 
Congress was held at Hamburg in April, which was 
attended by representatives of the Emperor, the 
Regent of the Netherlands, the Imperial Electors and 
Princes, as well as by deputies from Denmark, 
England, Poland, and Liibeck. Isabella accompanied 
her husband on this occasion, at Hannart's request. 

" I hear on all sides," he wrote to Charles, " that 
the people of Denmark would gladly welcome the 
return of the Queen and her children if the King 
would not meddle with public affairs, and a good 
Governor appointed by Your Majesty should act as 
Regent until the young Prince is of age."^ 

But when, by way of compromise, some members 
of the Congress proposed that Frederic should retain 
the throne, and recognize Prince John as his successor," 
Christian rejected this offer angrily, and negotiations 
were soon broken off. Both Charles and Margaret 
now gave up all hope of effecting Christian's restora- 
tion, and concluded a treaty in the following August 
with King Frederic, by which his title was recognized, 
and the Baltic was once more opened to the merchants 
of the Low Countries. 

II. 

The exiled monarch, now compelled to realize 
the hopelessness of his cause, returned sorrowfully 
with his wife to the Low Countries, and Isabella had 

^ K. Lanz, " Correspondenz Karls V.." i, io8. 



1523-31] THE CHILDREN OF DENMARK 43 

at least the joy of embracing her children once more. 
During this long absence the faithful servants who had 
followed their King and Queen into exile had kept 
her well supplied with news of their health and 
progress. 

" Prince John," wrote Nicolas Petri, Canon of 
Lunden, " learns quickly, and begins to speak French. 
He is already a great favourite with the Lady Mar- 
garet. His sisters, the Princesses, are very well, and 
are both very pretty children. The youngest, Madame 
Christine, has just been weaned. Madame Marguerite 
says that she will soon be receiving proposals of 
marriage for the elder one. These are good omens, 
for which God be praised. It is a real pleasure to be 
with these children, they are so good and charming. 
If only Your Grace could see them, you would soon 
forget all your troubles."^ 

But not all Margaret's affection for Isabella and 
her children could reconcile her to the King's presence. 
Christian was, it must be confessed, a troublesome 
guest. His restless brain was always busy with new 
plots and intrigues. At first he announced his inten- 
tion of taking Isabella to visit the Emperor in Spain, 
but, after spending some weeks in Zeeland fitting out 
ships, he suddenly changed his mind, and took Isabella, 
whose health had suffered from all the hardships and 
anxiety that she had undergone, to drink the waters 
at Aix-la-Chapelle. On his return he wished to settle 
at Ghent, but the Regent and her Council, fearing 
that his presence would excite sedition in this city, 
suggested that the Castle of Gemappes should be 
offered him instead. Charles replied that if the King 
lived at Gemappes he would certainly spoil his 
hunting, and thought that Lille or Bruges would be 

1 Altmeyer, " Isabelle d'Autriche," 26. 



44 KINGS IN EXILE [Bk. Ill 

a better place. In the end Lierre, a pleasant city 
halfway between Malines and Antwerp, was chosen 
for the exiled Princes' home. Towards the end of 
1524 Christian and his family took up their abode in 
the old castle which still goes by the name of Het Hof 
van Danemarken, or Cour de Danemarck. A guard of 
fifty halberdiers and a considerable household was 
assigned to them by the Emperor's order. A monthly 
allowance of 500 crowns was granted to the King, 
while the Queen received a yearly sum of 2,000 crowns 
pour employer en ses menus plaisirs. But Christian's 
reckless and disorderly conduct soon landed him in 
fresh difficulties. Isabella cut up her husband's old 
robes to make clothes for her little girls, and was 
reduced to such penury that she was compelled to 
pledge, not only her jewels, but the children's toys. 
Meanwhile Margaret's letters to her imperial nephew 
were filled with complaints of the Danish King's 
extravagance. She declared that he was spending 
800 crowns a month, and perpetually asking for more. 
When she sent her maitre d'hStel, Monsieur de 
Souvastre, to set his affairs in order, he was con- 
fronted with a long list of unpaid bills from doctors, 
apothecaries, saddlers, masons, carpenters, tailors, 
and poulterers. But accounts of the straits to which 
the Queen and her children were reduced had evi- 
dently reached Spain, and Charles felt it necessary to 
remind his aunt gently that, after all, Isabella was 
his own sister, and that many pensioners whom he 
had never seen received many thousands of crowns a 
year from his purse .^ 

Another cause of perpetual irritation was the 

^ Lanz, i. 145, 150, 195; Archives du Royaume : Revenus et 
Depenses de Charles V., 1520-1530, Reg. 1709; Schafer, iv. 89. 



1523-31] A ZEALOUS LUTHERAN 45 

favour shown by the King to the Lutherans, whom the 
Regent was trying to drive out of Flanders. The 
Court of Lierre became the refuge of all who pro- 
fessed the new doctrine. Margaret insisted on the 
banishment of several of the King's servants, including 
the chaplain, Hans Monboe, and Prince John's tutor, 
Nicolas Petri, and sent others to prison. But these 
high-handed acts only strengthened Christian's zeal 
in the cause of reform. " The word of God," he wrote 
to his friend Spalatin, "waxes powerful in the Nether- 
lands, and thrives on the blood of the martyrs."^ 
The letters which he addressed to his old subjects 
were couched in the same strain. He confessed his 
past sins, and prayed that he might be restored to 
his kingdom, hke David of old, declaring that his 
sole wish was to live for Christ and do good to his 
enemies. At the same time he hired freebooters to 
ravage the coast of Denmark, and provoked King 
Frederic to close the Sound, an act which aroused 
widespread discontent in the Low Countries. In 
August, 1525, he sent a herald to England, begging 
King Henry and his good friend the Cardinal to 
intercede with the Regent, and induce her to lend 
him men and money for a fresh expedition. But 
Margaret turned a deaf ear to all entreaties, and 
when Isabella's physician recommended her to try 
the waters of Aix-la-Chapelle again, she declined to 
sanction this journey on the score of expense. She 
sent her own doctor, however, to Lierre, and at his 
suggestion the invalid was moved for change of air 
to Swynaerde, the Abbot of St. Peter's country-house 
near Ghent. But Isabella's ills were beyond the 
reach of human skill, and she soon became too weak 
^ J. H. Schlegel, " Geschichte der K6nige v. Danemark," 123. 



46 KINGS IN EXILE [Bk. ill 

to leave her room. On the 12th of December 
Christian sent for his old chaplain from Wittenberg, 
begging him to return without delay. 

" Dear Brother in Christ," he wrote, 

" Here we forget Christ, and have no one to 
preach the word of God. I implore you to come and 
give us the comfort of the Gospel. Greet our brothers 
and sisters." 

Upon receiving this summons, Monboe and Hans 
Mikkelsen hastened to Ghent, at the peril of their 
lives, and administered spiritual consolation to the 
dying Queen. On the 19th of January she received 
the last Sacraments from the priest of Swynaerde, and 
saw Monsieur de Souvastre, by whom she sent her 
aunt affectionate messages, commending her poor 
children to Margaret's care. A few hours afterwards 
she passed quietly away. Both Catholics and Luther- 
ans bore witness to her angelic patience, and a letter 
which Christian addressed to Luther, ten days later, 
gives a touching account of his wife's last moments : 

"As her weakness increased, Frau Margaret sent 
her servant, Philippe de Souvastre, and other excellent 
persons, to admonish her after the fashion of the 
Popish Anti-Christ's faith and the religion of his sect. 
But Almighty God in His mercy deprived my wife 
of her powers of speech, so that she made no reply, 
and they gave up speaking, and only anointed her 
with oil. But before this she had received the Blessed 
Sacrament in the most devout manner, with ardent 
longing, firm faith, and stedfast courage ; and when 
one of our preachers exhorted her, in the words of 
the Gospel, to stand fast in the faith, she confessed 
her firm trust in God, and paid no heed to the super- 
stitious mutterings of the others. After this she 
became speechless, but gave many signs of true faith 
to the end, and took her last farewell of this world 
on the 19th of January. May God Almighty be 



1523-31] DEATH OF ISABELLA 47 

gracious to her soul, and grant her eternal rest ! We 
are strong in the sure and certain hope that she has 
entered into eternal bliss, unto which God bring us 
all !"i 

On the 4th of February the dead Queen, who had 
not yet completed her twenty-fifth year, was buried 
with great pomp in the cloisters of the Abbey of 
St. Peter at Ghent, where a stately marble tomb was 
raised over her ashes. The painter Mabuse was em- 
ployed to design the monument, as we learn from a 
letter which the King addressed to the Abbot of 
St. Peter's in 1528, complaining of his delay in com- 
pleting the work. A Latin inscription by Cornelius 
Scepperus, giving Isabella's titles in full, and recording 
her virtues and the sufferings which she had endured 
during her short life, was placed on the monument, 
which is described by an English traveller of the 
sixteenth century, Philip Skippon.^ Unfortunately, 
the tomb was rifled by the mob at the time of 
the French Revolution, but the ashes of the Queen 
were carefully preserved by a pious Cure, and after- 
wards restored to their former resting-place. 

Isabella's early death was deeply lamented, not 
only in the Low Countries, where she was so beloved, 
but in her husband's kingdoms. Funeral services were 
held throughout the land, and all men wept for the 
good Princess " who had been the mother of her 
people." On all sides testimonies to her worth were 
paid. Henry of England wrote to King Christian 
that the late Queen had been as dear to him as a 
sister, and Luther paid an eloquent tribute to her 
memory in his treatise on Holy Women : 

1 Schlegel, 124-126. 

2 Churchill, " Travels," vi. 348. 



48 KINGS IN EXILE [Bk. iii 

" Of such Kings' daughters there was indeed one, 
of the noblest birth, Isabella, Queen of Denmark, a 
Princess of the royal house of Spain. She embraced 
the Gospel with great ardour, and confessed the faith 
openly. And because of this she died in want and 
misery. For had she consented to renounce her faith, 
she would have received far more help and much 
greater kindness in this life."^ 



III. 

The news of the Queen of Denmark's death reached 
her brother, the Emperor, on the eve of his marriage 
to Isabella of Portugal. Guillaume des Barres, the 
bearer of Margaret's letters, found him at a village 
in Andalusia, on his way to Seville, where the wedding 
was to take place on the following day, and had a long 
interview with his imperial master before he left his 
bed on the 9th of March. Charles spoke with deep feel- 
ing of his sister, and inquired anxiously if the Regent 
had been able to obtain possession of her children — 
" a thing," wrote Des Barres, " which His Majesty 
desires greatly, because of the King's heretical lean- 
ings." ^ 

Margaret had certainly not been remiss in this 
matter. But Christian was more intractable than 
ever. He took his children to Ghent immediately 
after their mother's death, and refused to give them 
up until the Regent had paid all his debts, including 
7,000 florins for the funeral expenses, and 2,000 more 
which he owed to the landlord of the Falcon at Lierre 
for Rhine- wine and fodder. His language became 
every day more violent. He threatened to cut off 
the Governor of Antwerp's head, and appealed to his 

* Altmeyer, " Isabelle," 35; " Relations," 160. 
2 Altmeyer, " Relations," etc., 166. 



1523-31] MARGARET INTERVENES 49 

comrades of the Golden Fleece for the redress of his 
supposed grievances. At length Margaret, seeing that 
none of her Court officials and Councillors could bring 
him to reason, rode to Lierre herself on the 2nd of 
March, and made a last attempt to obtain possession 
of the children par voye aimable. The King, she 
found, had already packed up his furniture and plate, 
even the chalice which was used in the royal chapel, 
and was about to start for Germany. 

After prolonged discussion, the Regent succeeded 
in persuading Christian to leave his children with her, 
on condition that she paid his debts in Lierre, and 
provided for the late Queen's funeral expenses — " a 
thing which must be done," she wrote to Charles, 
" out of sheer decency." But she quite refused the 
King's demand for an increased allowance, saying 
that he could not require more money than he had 
received in his wife's lifetime. Christian then left the 
Netherlands for Saxony, saying that he intended to 
raise a fresh army and invade Denmark. " He is 
confident of recovering his kingdoms," wrote Margaret 
to the Emperor, " but my own impression is that his 
exploits will be confined to plundering and injuring 
your subjects." This prophecy was literally fulfilled, 
and during the next four years the peaceful folk in 
Friesland were harassed by turbulent freebooters in 
the King of Denmark's pay, while pirates ravaged 
the coasts of the North Sea, and led the Hanse cities 
to make severe reprisals on the Dutch ships. 

Margaret's chief object, however, was attained. 
On the 5 th of March she returned to Malines with 
the Prince of Denmark and his little sisters. ** Hence- 
forth, Monseigneur," she wrote to Charles, " you will 
have to be both father and mother to these poor 



50 KINGS IN EXILE [Bk.iii 

children, and must treat them as your own."^ The 
Regent herself nobly fulfilled the sacred trust com- 
mitted to her by the dying Queen. From this time 
until her own death, four and a half years later, 
Isabella's children were the objects of her unceasing 
care, and lacked nothing that money could provide 
or love suggest. They lived under her own roof in 
the Palace of Mahnes, that city of wide streets and 
canals, with the fine market-place and imposing 
cathedral, which many called the finest town in 
Flanders. Margaret's first care was to arrange the 
royal children's household. Prince John was placed 
in the charge of a governess. Mademoiselle Rolande 
de Serclaes, who superintended his meals and taught 
him " Christian religion and good manners," while 
he had for his tutor Cornelius Agrippa, the dis- 
tinguished scholar and defender of women's rights, 
who dedicated his book, "On the Pre-excellence of 
Women," to the Regent. In Lent the Prince and his 
sisters received regular instruction in the palace 
chapel, and one year Friar Jehan de Salis received 
thirty-six livres for preaching a course of Lent sermons 
before the Prince and Princesses of Denmark. Mar- 
garet herself kept a watchful eye on the children. A 
hundred entries in her household accounts show how 
carefully she chose their nurses and companions, their 
clothes and playthings. One of her first gifts to the 
Prince was a handsome pony, richly harnessed with 
black and gold trappings. Another was a dwarf 
page, who became his constant playfellow, and in 
his turn received good Ypres cloth and damask for 
his own wear. Italian merchants from Antwerp 
often came to lay their wares before the Regent. 

^ Lanz, i. 195. 



1523-31] THE PALACE OF MALINES 51 

We find her choosing black velvet and white satin 
for Prince John's doublet, and pearl buttons and gold 
fringe to trim his sleeves, and ordering the goldsmith. 
Master Leonard of Augsburg, to supply an antique 
silver dagger and an image of Hercules for the Prince's 
cap. Or else a merchant is desired to send her two 
pairs of cuffs of exquisitely fine " toile de Cambray," 
embroidered with gold thread, for the young Prin- 
cesses' wear,^ and twenty gold balls for the fringe of 
their bed. Amid all the anxious cares of State which 
filled her time, this great lady seldom allowed a day 
to pass without seeing her nephew and nieces. Their 
innocent prattle and merry laughter cheered her 
lonely hours, while the Prince and his sisters found 
plenty to amuse them in their great-aunt's rooms. 
The halls were hung with costly Arras tapestries of 
David killing Goliath, stories of Alexander and 
Esther, hunting scenes and Greek fables, or adorned 
with paintings by the best masters. Van Eyck's 
" Merchant of Lucca, Arnolfini with his Wife," and 
" Virgin of the Fountain," Rogier Van der Wey den's 
and Memling's Madonnas, Jerome Bosch's " St. 
Anthony," Jacopo de' Barbari's " Crucifixion," were 
all here, as well as Michel van Coxien's little Virgin 
with the sleeping Child in her arms, which Margaret 
called her mignonne.^ The library contained a com- 
plete collection of family portraits, chiefly the work 
of the Court painter, Bernard van Orley or Jehan 
Mabuse. 

Among these were pictures of Margaret's parents, 
Maximilian and Mary of Burgundy; of her second 

^ Archives du Royaume, Bruxelles. Registre des Depenses, etc., 
Nos. 1799, 1800, 1803. 
2 L. de Laborde, " Inventaire"; Henne, iv. 387-390. 



52 KINGS IN EXILE [Bk. ill 

husband, Monsieur de Savoie, a brilliant cavalier 
clad in a crimson mantle sown with daisies in allu- 
sion to his wife's name; and of her brother, King 
Philip, with his children, the young Archduke Charles 
and the future Queens of France and Denmark. 
Prince John and his sisters would recognize the por- 
traits of their own father and mother, King Christian 
and his gentle wife, which hung over the mantel- 
piece, together with those of their great-grandparents, 
Ferdinand and Isabella, the Kings of France and 
England, and the Grand Turk. But better in the 
children's eyes than all the pictures and bronzes, the 
marble busts and ivories, the silver mirrors and 
chandeliers, better even than the Chinese dragons 
and stuffed birds-of-Paradise from the New World, 
were the live pets with which their aunt loved to be 
surrounded. The famous green parrot which once 
belonged to Mary of Burgundy had lately died, to 
her great sorrow. Margaret herself had written its 
epitaph, and the Court poet, Jehan Le Maire, had 
sung the bird's descent into the Elysian fields, and its 
converse with Charon and Mercury, in his elegy of 
" L'Amant Vert." But in its stead she had cages 
full of parakeets and singing birds, which were care- 
fully tended by her ladies, and fed with white loaves 
newly baked every morning. There was an Italian 
greyhound in a white fur tippet, and a number of 
toy-dogs in baskets lined with swansdown, and a 
marmoset that she had bought from a French pedlar, 
which afforded the Court ladies as much amusement 
as the royal children. Nor were other diversions 
wanting. Margaret was very fond of music, and not 
only kept a troop of viol and tambourine players, but 
often sent for the town band of Ghent and Brussels, 



1523-31] MABUSE'S PICTURE 53 

or the Prince of Orange's fife and organ players, to 
beguile her evenings. Sometimes the children of 
S. Rombaut and the choir-boys of Notre Dame du 
Sablon in Brussels would sing chorales during dinner, 
or strolling players and German marionettes, Italian 
jugglers, or Poles and Hungarians with tame bears, 
would be allowed to perform in her presence. On one 
occasion a famous lute-player from the Court of 
Whitehall was sent over by King Henry, and received 
seven gold crowns for his pains. Another time three 
Savoyards were rewarded with a handful of gold 
pieces for the tricks with which they had amused the 
Court after supper. And every May Day the archers 
of the guard marched in procession to plant hawthorn- 
bushes covered with blossom under the palace 
windows.^ 

In these pleasant surroundings the children of Den- 
mark grew up under the same roof as their mother 
and aunts before them, leading the same joyous and 
natural life. No wonder that through all her troubled 
life Christina looked back fondly to these early times, 
and never forgot the happy days which she had spent 
at Malines. There is a charming picture, now at 
Hampton Court, of the three children, painted by 
Mabuse soon after their mother's death, and sent 
to King Henry VIII., whose favour Christian II. was 
once more trying to obtain.^ 

^ Henne, iv. 387-391. 

2 This painting is mentioned in one of Henry VIII. 's catalogues 
as " A table with the pictures of the three children of the King of 
Denmark, with a curtain of white and yellow sarcenet." In 
Charles I.'s inventory it is described as " A Whitehall piece, 
curiously painted by Mabusius, wherein two men children and 
one woman child are playing with some oranges in their hands 
by a green table, little half-figures upon a board in a wooden 

5 



54 KINGS IN EXILE [Bk. ill 

The three children are standing at a table covered 
with a green cloth, on which apples and cherries are 
laid. Prince John, a manly boy with a thoughtful, 
attractive face, wearing a black velvet suit and cap 
and a gold chain round his neck, is in the centre 
between his sisters. On his right, Dorothea, a pretty 
child with brown eyes and golden curls frizzled all 
over her head, reaches out her hand towards the 
fruit, while on his left the little Christina grasps an 
apple firmly in one hand, and lays the other con- 
fidingly on her brother's arm. Both little girls are 
dressed in black velvet with white ermine sleeves, 
probably made out of their father's old robes. But 
while Dorothea's curly head is uncovered, Christina 
wears a tight-fitting hood edged with pearls, drawn 
closely over her baby face. Her tiny features are 
full of character, and the large brown eyes, with their 
earnest gaze, and small fingers clasping the apple, 
already reveal the courage and resolution for which 
she was to be distinguished in days to come. 

At this early period of their lives it was, naturally 
enough, Prince John who chiefly occupied his guar- 
dian's thoughts. A boy of rare promise, studious, 
intelligent, and affectionate, he had inherited much 
of his mother's charm, and soon became a great 
favourite at Court. Margaret was never tired of 

frame." At the sale of the King's effects it was called a Mabuse, 
and valued at ;^io. In 1743 the same picture hung in Queen 
Caroline's closet at Kensington Palace, and was described by 
Vertue as " Prince Arthur and his sisters, children of Henry VII." 
Five years later it was removed to Windsor and engraved under 
this name. Sir George Scharf was the first to correct this obvious 
error and restore the original title (see " Archasologia," xxxix. 245). 
Old copies of the picture, mostly dating from the seventeenth 
century, are to be seen at Wilton, Longford, Corsham, and other 
places. 




^ 



1523-31] A PROMISING PRINCE 55 

describing his talents and progress to the Emperor, 
who took keen interest in his young nephew, and 
was particularly glad to hear how fond he was of 
riding. 

" Madame my good Aunt," he wrote, 

" I hear with great pleasure of the kindness 
shown by M. de Bregilles, the Master of your House- 
hold, to my nephew, the Prince of Denmark, and 
am very grateful to him for teaching the boy to ride 
and mounting him so well. And you will please tell 
Bregilles that I beg him to go on from good to better, 
and train the boy in all honest and manly exercises, 
as well as in noble and virtuous conduct, for you 
know that he is likely to follow whatever example is 
set before him in his youth. And I have no doubt 
that, not only in this case, but in all others, you will 
not cease to watch over him. 

" Your good nephew, 

" Charles." 1 

When in July, 1528, Margaret's servant Montfort 
was sent on an important mission to Spain, the 
Emperor's first anxiety was to hear full accounts of 
Prince John and his sisters from the Envoy's lips. 
He expressed great satisfaction with all Montfort told 
him, saying that he entertained the highest hopes of 
his nephew, and would far rather support his claim 
to Denmark than help his father to recover the throne 
— " the more so," he added, " since we hear that King 
Christian, to our sorrow, still adheres to the false 
doctrine of Luther." 

IV. 

King Christian, as the Emperor hinted, was still a 
thorn in the Regent's side. Although, since his wife's 
death, most of his time had been spent in Germany, 

^ Altmeyer, " Isabelle d'Autriche," 52. 



56 KINGS IN EXILE [Bk. ill 

he remained a perpetual source of annoyance. In 
July, 1528, he induced his sister Elizabeth to leave 
her husband, Joachim of Brandenburg, and escape 
with him to Saxony. All Germany rang with this 
new scandal, and while the Marquis appealed to 
Margaret, begging her to stop Christian's allowance 
as the only means of bringing him to his senses, 
Elizabeth, who had secretly embraced the reformed 
faith, implored the Emperor's protection against her 
husband, and refused to return to Berlin. At the 
same time the King did his utmost to stir up dis- 
content round Lierre, and raised bands of freebooters 
in Holland, whose lawless depredations were a con- 
stant source of vexation to Charles's loyal subjects. 
When the Regent protested, he replied that he had 
nothing to do with these levies, and that his intentions 
were absolutely innocent, assurances which, Margaret 
remarked, would not deceive a child. Under these 
circumstances, relations between the two became 
daily more strained. " Margaret loves me not, and 
has never loved me," wrote Christian to his Lutheran 
friends, while the Regent turned to Charles in her 
despair, saying: " Monseigneur, if the King of Den- 
mark comes here, I simply do not know what I am 
to do with him \"^ 

Suddenly a new turn in the tide altered the whole 
aspect of affairs. On the 3rd of August, 1529, the 
Peace of Cambray was finally concluded. The long 
war, which had drained the Emperor's resources, 
was at an end, and his hands were once more free. 
Christian lost no time in taking advantage of this 
opportunity to secure his powerful kinsman's help. 
He addressed urgent petitions to the Emperor and 

* Lanz, i. 283; Henne. iv. 337. 



1523-31] DEATH OF MARGARET 57 

King Ferdinand, and sent an Envoy to plead his 
cause at Bologna, where on the 24th of February, 
1530, Charles V. received the imperial crown from 
the hands of Pope Clement VII. But the only con- 
dition on which the exiled monarch could be admitted 
into the new confederation was his return to the 
Catholic Church. For this, too. Christian seems to have 
been prepared. On the 2nd of February he signed 
an agreement at Lierre, in which he promised to obey 
the Emperor's wishes, and to hold fast the Catholic 
faith, if he should be restored to the throne of Den- 
mark. When Charles crossed the Brenner, Christian 
hastened to meet him at Innsbruck, and, throwing 
himself at the foot of Cardinal Campeggio, craved the 
Holy Father's pardon for his past errors, and received 
absolution. But, in spite of this public recantation, 
the King still secretly preferred the reformed faith, 
and continued to correspond with his Lutheran friends. 
On the 25 th of June he arrived at Mahnes with letters 
of credit for 24,000 florins, which he had received 
from the Emperor as the price of his submission. 
But the Council refused to give him a farthing without 
the Regent's consent, and Margaret dechned to see 
him, pleading illness as her excuse. Although only 
fifty years of age, she had long been in faihng health, 
and only awaited the Emperor's coming to lay down her 
arduous office and retire to a convent at Bruges. An 
unforeseen accident hastened her end. She hurt her 
foot by treading on the broken pieces of a crystal 
goblet, blood-poisoning came on, and she died in her 
sleep on the 30th of November, without ever seeing 
her nephew again. The touching letter in which she 
bade him farewell was written a few hours before her 
death : 



58 KINGS IN EXILE [Bk. iii 

" MONSEIGNEUR, 

" The hour has come when I can no longer 
write with my own hand, for I am so dangerously ill 
that I fear my remaining hours will be few. But my 
conscience is tranquil, and I am ready to accept God's 
will, and have no regrets saving that I am deprived 
of your presence, and am unable to see you and speak 
with you before I die. ... I leave you your provinces, 
greatly increased in extent since your departure, and 
resign the government, which I trust I have dis- 
charged in such a way as to merit a Divine reward, 
and earn the goodwill of your subjects as well as 
your approval. And above all, Monseigneur, I re- 
commend you to live at peace, more especially with 
the Kings of France and England. Finally I beg 
of you, by the love which you have been pleased to 
bear me, remember the salvation of my soul and my 
recommendations on behalf of my poor servants. 
And so I bid you once more farewell, praying, Mon- 
seigneur, that you may enjoy a long life and great 
prosperity. 

" Your very humble aunt, 

" Margaret." 1 

" From Malines the last day of November, 1530." 

This letter reached the Emperor at Cologne together 
with the news of Margaret's death, and a solemn 
requiem was chanted for her soul in the cathedral. 
Charles and his subjects fully realized the great loss 
which his pays de par-deca had suffered by his aunt's 
death. 

" All the provinces," said Cornelius Agrippa, in the 
funeral oration which he pronounced in S. Rom- 
baut of Malines, " all the cities, and all the villages, 
are plunged in tears and sorrow. For no greater 
loss could have befallen us and our country." 

The young Prince of Denmark, whom Margaret 
had loved so well, was chief mourner on this occasion, 

* Lanz, i. 408; Gachard, " Analecta Belgica," i. 378. 



1,523-31] MARY OF HUNGAI^Y 59 

and rode at the head of the procession which bore 
her remains to Bruges. Here they were laid in the 
Convent of the Annunciation until the magnificent 
shrine that she had begun at Brou in Savoy was ready 
to receive her ashes and those of her husband. When, 
in the following March, the Emperor came to Mahnes, 
Prince John welcomed him in a Latin speech, in which 
he made a pathetic allusion to the loss which he and 
his sisters had sustained in the death of one who 
had been to them the wisest and tenderest of mothers. 
Then, turning to his uncle with charming grace, he 
begged the Emperor to have compassion upon him 
and his orphaned sisters, and allow them to remain at 
his Court until their father should be restored to his 
rightful throne. The young Prince's simple eloquence 
produced a deep impression. The Emperor with 
tears in his eyes embraced him, and the magistrates 
of Malines presented him with a barrel of Rhenish 
wine in token of their regard.^ 

Fortunately for the children of Denmark, as well 
as for the provinces which Margaret had ruled so well, 
another Habsburg Princess was found to take her 
place. This was the Emperor's sister Mary, whose 
gallant husband, King Louis of Hungary, had fallen 
on the field of Mohacz four years before, fighting 
against the Turks. The widowed Queen, although 
only twenty-one, had shown admirable presence of 
mind, and it was largely due to her tact and popu- 
larity that her brother Ferdinand and his wife Anna, 
the dead King's sister, were recognized as joint Sove- 
reigns of Bohemia and Hungary. Her own hand was 
sought in marriage by many Princes, including the 
young King James V. of Scotland and her sister 
* Schlegel, 126; Altmeyer, " Relations," etc., 186. 



6o KINGS IN EXILE [Bk. hi 

Eleanor's old lover, the Palatine Frederic, whose 
romantic imagination was deeply impressed by the 
young Queen's heroic bearing. But Mary positively 
refused to take another husband, saying that, having 
found perfect happiness in her first marriage, she had 
no wish to try a second . To the end of her life she 
remained true to her dead lord, and never put off 
her widow's weeds. But her courage and spirit were 
as high as ever. She was passionately fond of hunt- 
ing, and amazed the hardest riders by being all day 
in the saddle without showing any trace of fatigue. 
Her powers of mind were no less remarkable. She 
was the ablest of the whole family, and the wisdom 
of her judgments was equalled by the frankness with 
which she expressed them. Like all the Habsburg 
ladies, she was highly educated, and spoke Latin as 
well as 'any doctor in Louvain, according to Erasmus, 
who inscribed her name on the first page of his 
" Veuve Chretienne." Mary shared her sister Isabella's 
sympathy with the reformers, and accepted the 
dedication of Luther's " Commentary on the Four 
Psalms of Consolation." When this excited her 
brother Ferdinand's displeasure, she told him that 
authors must do as they please in these matters, 
and that he might trust her not to tarnish the fair 
name of their house. " God," she added, " would 
doubtless give her grace to die a good Christian."^ 

In the spring of 1530 Mary met Charles at Inns- 
bruck, and accompanied him to Augsburg. When, 
a few months later, the news of Margaret's death 
reached him at Cologne, the Emperor begged her to 
become Regent of the Low Countries and share the 
burden of government with him. But Mary had no 

^ Altmeyer, " Relations," 190. 



1523-31] THE NEW REGENT 6i 

wish to enter public life, and asked her brother's leave 
to retire to Spain and devote herself to the care of 
their unhappy mother, Queen Juana. For some 
time she resisted the entreaties of both her brothers, 
and it was only a strong sense of duty which finally 
overcame her reluctance to assume so arduous and 
ungrateful a task. When at length she consented, 
she made it a condition that she should not be troubled 
with offers of marriage, and pointed out that her 
Lutheran sympathies might well arouse suspicion in 
the Netherlands. But Charles brushed these objections 
lightly aside, saying that no one should disturb her 
peace, and that he should never have trusted her with 
so important a post if he had regarded her Lutheran 
tendencies seriously. All he asked was that the 
Queen should not bring her German servants to the 
Low Countries, lest they should arouse the jealousy 
of his Flemish courtiers. 

Mary scrupulously fulfilled these conditions, and on 
the 23rd of January, 1 531, the new Regent entered 
Louvain in state, and was presented to the Council 
by the Emperor, as Governess of the Netherlands. 
Two months later she accompanied Charles to Malines, 
where for the first time she embraced her little 
nieces. For the present, however, Dorothea and 
Christina, who were only nine and ten years old, 
remained at Malines, while Prince John accompanied 
his uncle and aunt on a progress through the 
provinces. 

Mary soon realized all the difficulties of the task 
that she had undertaken with so much reluctance. 

" The Emperor," she wrote to Ferdinand from 
Brussels, ** has fastened the rope round my neck, but 
I find public affairs in a great tangle, and if His 



62 KINGS IN EXILE [Bk. iii 

Majesty does not reduce them to some degree of 
order before his departure, I shall find myself in a very 
tight place." ^ 

The Treasury was exhausted, the people groaned 
under the load of taxation, and the prodigal generosity 
of the late Regent had not succeeded in suppressing 
strife and jealousy among the nobles. As Mary 
wrote many years afterwards to her nephew, Philip II . : 

" No doubt our aunt, Madame Marguerite, ruled the 
Netherlands long and well ; but when she grew old and 
ailing she was obliged to leave the task to others, 
and when the Emperor returned there after her death, 
he found the nobles at variance, justice little respected, 
and all classes disaffected to the imperial service."^ 

But the young Regent brought all her spirit and 
energy to the task, and with her brother's help suc- 
ceeded in reforming the gravest abuses and restoring 
some order into the finances. The gravest difficulty 
with which she had to contend was the presence of 
the King of Denmark. Since Margaret's death this 
monarch had grown bolder and more insolent in his 
demands. With the help of his old ally, Duke Henry 
of Brunswick, he collected 6,000 men-at-arms and 
invaded Holland, spreading fire and sword wherever 
he went. In vain Charles remonstrated with him 
on the suffering which he inflicted on peaceable citi- 
zens. Christian only replied with an insolent letter, 
which convinced the Emperor more than ever of " the 
man's little sense and honesty." He now feared that 
the King would seize one of the forts in Holland and 
remain there all the winter, feeding his soldiers at the 
expense of the unfortunate peasantry, and infecting 

^ T. Juste, " Les Pays-Bas sous Charles V.," 35. 

2 L. Gachard, " Retraite at Mort de Charles V.," i. 348. 



1523-31] A FORLORN HOP^ 63 

them with Lutheran heresy. Under these circum- 
stances Charles felt that it was impossible to desert his 
sister, and decided to put off his departure for Ger- 
many until he had got rid of this troublesome guest. 
At length, on the 26th of October, Christian sailed 
from Medemblik, in North Holland, with twenty-five 
ships and 7,000 men. 

" He has done infinite damage to my provinces of 
Holland and Utrecht," wrote Charles to Ferdinand, 
" treating them as if they were enemies, and forcing 
them to provide him with boats and provisions, 
besides seizing the supplies which I had collected for 
my own journey."^ 

So great were the straits to which Charles found 
himself reduced that he was compelled to raise a fresh 
loan in order to defray the expenses of his journey 
to Spires. But at least the hated adventurer was 
gone, and as a fair wind sprang up, and the sails of 
King Christian's fleet dropped below the horizon, the 
Emperor and his subjects felt that they could breathe 
freely. 

" The King of Dacia," wrote the Italian traveller 
Mario Savorgnano, from Brussels, on the 6th of 
November, " has sailed with twenty big ships, thus 
relieving this land from a heavy burden. He goes 
to recover his kingdom of Denmark, a land lying 
north of the.Cymbric Chersonesus. . . . But I am 
sure that when the people come face to face with 
these mercenaries, especially those who have been 
in Italy and have there learnt to rob, sack, burn, and 
leave no cruelty undone, in their greed for gold, they 
will rise and drive out the invaders. "^ 

This time Christian determined not to attempt a 
landing in Denmark, but to sail straight to Norway, 
where he had always been more popular than in any 
^ Lanz, i. 572. 2 ]y[ Sanuto, " Diarii," Iv. 174. 



64 KINGS IN EXILE [Bk. iii 

other part of his dominions, and still numbered many 
partisans. His expectations were not disappointed. 
When he landed, on the 5th of November, the 
peasantry and burghers flocked to his standard. 
The' Archbishop of Drondtheim and the clergy declared 
in his favour, and the States-General, which met in 
January, 1532, at Oslo, the old capital, renewed their 
oaths of allegiance to him as their rightful King. 
But the strong forts of Bergen and Aggershus, at the 
gates of the town, closed their gates against him, and 
his army soon began to dwindle away for want of 
supplies. Early in the spring a strong fleet, fitted 
out by King Frederic, with the help of the citizens 
of Liibeck, appeared before Oslo, and set fire to Chris- 
tian's ships in the harbour, while a Danish army, under 
Knut Gyldenstern, advanced from the south. Once 
more the King's nerve failed him. He met the 
Danish captain in a meadow outside Oslo, and, after 
prolonged negotiations, agreed to lay down his arms 
and go to Copenhagen, to confer with his uncle. 
The next day he disbanded his forces and took leave 
of his loyal supporters. Thus, without striking a 
blow, he delivered Norway into the usurper's hands, 
and surrendered his last claim to the three kingdoms } 
In return for his submission, Gyldenstern had 
promised the King honourable entertainment and 
given him a written safe-conduct. Trusting in these 
assurances. Christian went on board a Danish ship, 
and on the 24th of July arrived before Copenhagen. 
As the ship sailed up the Sound in the early summer 
morning, people flocked from all parts to see their 
old King, and many of the women and children wept 
aloud. His fate, they realized, was already sealed. 
^ Schafer, iv. 178-194. 



1523-31] CHRISTIAN II.' S FALL 65 

Before the arrival of the fleet, a conference had been 
held between Frederic and the Swedish and Hanse 
deputies, who agreed that so dangerous a foe must 
not be allowed to remain at liberty, and condemned 
the unfortunate monarch to perpetual imprisonment 
in the island fortress of Sonderburg. In vain Chris- 
tian demanded to be set on shore and conducted into 
his uncle's presence. He was told that the King 
would meet him in the Castle of Flensburg in Schleswig. 
But when, instead of sailing in this direction, the ship 
which bore him entered the narrow Alsener Sound, 
and the walls of Sonderburg came in sight, the un- 
happy King saw the trap into which he had fallen, 
and broke into transports of rage. But it was too 
late, and he was powerless in the hands of his enemies. 
No indignity was spared him by his captors. As he 
entered the lonely cell in the highest turret of the 
castle, Knut Gyldenstern, who is said to have been 
one of his mistress Dyveke's lovers, plucked the 
fallen monarch by the beard, and tore the jewel of 
the Golden Fleece from his neck. None of the old 
servants who had clung to their exiled Prince so 
faithfully were allowed to share his prison, and 
for many years a pet dwarf was his sole com- 
panion.^ 

In this foul and treacherous manner King Chris- 
tian II. was betrayed into the hands of his foes and 
doomed to lifelong captivity. And, by a strange fate, 
in these early days of August, at the very moment 
when the iron gates of Sonderburg closed behind him, 
his only son, the rightful heir to the three kingdoms, 
died far away in Southern Germany, within the walls 
of the imperial city of Regensburg. 

* Schlegel, 127-219. 



66 KINGS IN EXILE [Bk. ill 

Meanwhile the news of Christian's unexpected 
success in Norway had reached Brussels and excited 
great surprise. 

" The King of Denmark," wrote Mary of Hun- 
gary to her brother Ferdinand, " has done so well 
by his rashness that he has actually recovered pos- 
session of one of his kingdoms, and his friends hope 
that he may be able to stay there. "^ 

This was towards the end of December, when the 
imperial family had assembled in the palace to keep 
Christmas. Prince John had won golden opinions 
on the progress which he had made with his uncle 
and aunt, and was as much beloved by the Emperor, 
wrote Mario Savorgnano, as if he were his own son. 
Now his little sisters were brought to Brussels by 
their uncle's command to share in the festivities. 
Early in January, 1532, Charles heard that his sister, 
Queen Katherine of Portugal, had given birth to a 
son, and the happy event was celebrated by a grand 
tournament on the square in front of the Portuguese 
Ambassador's house. The Emperor, accompanied by 
the Queen of Hungary and the Prince and Princesses 
of Denmark, looked on at the jousts and sword and 
torch dances from a balcony draped with white and 
green velvet, and at nine o'clock sat down to a 
sumptuous banquet. The Queen was seated at the 
head of the table, opposite the fireplace, with the 
Emperor on her right and Princess Dorothea at his 
side. Prince John was on his aunt's left, and the 
youthful Christina, who made her first appearance in 
public on this occasion, sat between her brother and 
the Portuguese Ambassador. Henry of Nassau, the 
Prince of Bisignano, and Ferrante Gonzaga, were at 

^ T. Juste. " Les Pays-Bas sous Charles V.," 49. 



1523-31] COURT FETES _ 6^ 

the same board, while Nassau's son, the young Prince 
Rene, who had lately inherited the principality of 
Orange from his maternal uncle, sat with the Queen's 
ladies at another table. Charles was in high spirits. 
He talked and laughed with all the lords and ladies 
who were present during the interminable number of 
courses of meat, fish, game, wines, cakes, and fruits, 
that were served in succession, with brief interludes 
of music. When, at eleven, the Emperor rose from 
table, an Italian comedy was acted, in which Ferrante 
Gonzaga and several Italian and Spanish noblemen 
took part. Then King Cupid appeared, riding in a 
triumphal car, and a troop of Loves danced hand in 
hand, until, at a sign from Charles, the actors removed 
their masks. A collation of confetti and Madeira and 
Valencia wines was then served at a buffet laden with 
costly gold and silver cups and precious bowls of 
Oriental porcelain. When all the guests had ate and 
drunk their fill, the finest crystal vases and bottles 
of perfume were presented to the Queen and Prin- 
cesses, and the other ladies received gifts from the 
Ambassador. The royal guests joined with great spirit 
in the dancing which followed, and did not retire 
till two o'clock.^ Concerts and suppers, jousts and 
dances, succeeded each other throughout the week, 
and the Emperor gave splendid presents to the 
Ambassador of Portugal, and sent cordial congratula- 
tions to his royal brother-in-law on the birth of his 
son and heir. 

A fortnight later Charles left Brussels, taking 

Prince John with him, and travelled by slow stages 

to Regensburg, where the Imperial Diet was opened 

in May. Here the Court remained during the next 

^ M. Sanuto, Iv. 417-419. 



68 KINGS IN EXILE [Bk. HI 

three months, and the young Prince was sent to 
receive the Count Palatine, the Archbishop of Mainz, 
and other Princes of the Empire, who arrived in turn 
to take part in the assembly. Unluckily the weather 
proved very disagreeable. " Never," exclaimed the 
Venetian Ambassador, " was there such a detestable 
climate !" A long continuance of heavy rains and 
unusual heat was followed by some bitterly cold 
days, which produced serious illness. Princes and 
nobles, Ambassadors and servants, all succumbed in 
turn to the same epidemic. The Venetian took to 
his bed, and four of his servants became seriously ill. 
The Emperor himself was invalided, and left the 
town to take waters and change of air in a neighbour- 
ing village. " There is hardly a house in the Court," 
wrote the Mantuan Envoy," where some person is not 
ill. Most people recover, but a good many die, 
especially those who are young." Among the victims 
was Prince John of Denmark. Charles returned to 
find his nephew in high fever and delirium. He was 
deeply distressed, and when the poor boy became 
unconscious, and the doctors gave no hope, he left 
the town again, saying that he could not bear to see 
the child die. The Prince never recovered conscious- 
ness, and passed away at two o'clock on the morning 
of the 1 2th of August. 

" The poor little Prince of Denmark died last 
night," wrote the Mantuan Ambassador, " to the 
infinite distress of the whole Court, and above all of 
Caesar, who bore him singular affection, not only on 
account of the close ties of blood between them, but 
because of the young Prince's charming nature and 
winning manners, which made him beloved by every- 
one and gave rise to the highest hopes." ^ 

^ M. Sanuto, Ivi. 813-823. 



1523-31] THE EMPEROR'S GRIEF 69 

By the Emperor's orders an imposing funeral 
service was held at Regensburg, after which the 
Prince's body was taken to Ghent and buried in his 
mother's grave. Charles himself wrote to break the 
sad news to Mary of Hungary and her poor little nieces : 

" Madame my good Sister, 

" This is only to inform you of the loss we 
have suffered in the death of our little nephew of 
Denmark, whom it pleased God to take to Himself 
on Sunday morning, the day before yesterday, after 
he had been ill of internal catarrh for a whole week. 
This has caused me the greatest grief that I have 
ever known. For he was the dearest little fellow, of 
his age, that it was possible to see, and I have felt 
this loss more than I did that of my son, for he was 
older, and I knew him better and loved him as if he 
had been my own child. But we must bow to the 
Divine will. Although I know that God might have 
allowed this to happen anywhere, I cannot help feeling 
that if I had left the boy at home with you he might 
not have died. At least his father will be sure to 
say so. I expect you know where he is said to be. 
Without offence to God, I could wish he were in his 
son's place, and his son well received in his own 
kingdom. All the same, without pretending to be 
the judge, perhaps the King has not deserved to be 
there, and the little rogue is better off where he is 
than where I should have liked to see him, and smiles 
at my wish for him, for he was certainly not guilty of 
any great sins. He died in so Christian a manner 
that, if he had committed as many as I have, there 
would have been good hope of his soul's weal, and 
with his last breath he called on Jesus. I am writing 
to my little nieces, as you see, to comfort them. I 
am sure that you will try and do the same. The 
best remedy will be to find them two husbands."^ 

When Charles wrote these touching words, he had 
not yet heard of the disastrous end to King Christian's 
campaign, and believed the Prince's father to be in 

^ Lanz, ii. 3. 



70 KINGS IN EXILE [Bk. ill 

possession of the Norwegian capital. But he added 
a postscript to his letter, telling the Queen of a report 
which had just arrived, that the King had been taken 
prisoner by his foes. Four days later this report 
was confirmed by letters from Liibeck merchants, 
and no further doubt could be entertained of the 
doom which had overtaken the unhappy monarch. 
His melancholy fate excited little compassion, either 
in Germany or in the Netherlands. Luther, to his 
credit, addressed an earnest appeal to King Frederic 
congratulating him on his victory, and begging him 
to take example by Christ, who died for His murderers, 
and have pity on the unfortunate captive. But in 
reply Frederic issued an apology, in which he brought 
the gravest charges against the deposed King, and 
accused him of having preferred a low woman of 
worthless character to the noblest and most virtuous 
of Queens. Before long the old commercial treaties 
between Denmark and the Low Countries were 
renewed, and the Baltic trade was resumed on the 
understanding that no attempt was made to revive 
King Christian's claims. 

The prisoner of Sonderburg was forgotten by the 
world, and the one being who loved him best on earth, 
his sister Elizabeth of Brandenburg, could only com- 
mend his little daughters sadly to the Regent, and 
beg her to have compassion on these desolate children. 
Mary replied in a letter full of feeling, assuring 
Elizabeth that she need have no fear on this score, 
and that her little nieces should be treated as if they 
were her own daughters. She kept her word nobly .-^ 

1 Altmeyer, " Relations," etc., 206. 



BOOK IV 

CHRISTINA, DUCHESS OF MILAN 
1533— 1535 

I. 

In the letter which the Emperor wrote to Mary of 
Hungary on his nephew's death, he remarked that 
the best way of consohng his little nieces for their 
brother's loss would be to find them husbands. The 
marriages of these youthful Princesses had already 
engaged his attention for some time past. While 
Christina was still a babe in her nurse's arms, the 
Regent Margaret had been planning marriages for 
her great-nieces. In 1527 Wolsey proposed King 
Henry's illegitimate son, the Duke of Richmond, as 
an eligible suitor for one of them, but the idea of 
such a union was scouted by the imperial family.^ 
A marriage between Dorothea and her second cousin, 
King James V. of Scotland, was discussed during many 
years, and only abandoned eventually owing to the 
fickle character of the young monarch. After Prince 
John's death, this Princess inherited her brother's 
claims to the Danish throne, and King Frederic went 
so far as to propose that she should wed his younger 
son John, offering to recognize him as heir to Denmark, 
and leave the duchies of Schleswig - Holstein to his 
^ Calendar of Spanish State Papers, ii. 146. 
71 



72 CHRISTINA, DUCHESS OF MILAN [Bk. iv 

elder son Christian. But the Emperor and Mary of 
Hungary were both reluctant to treat with the 
usurper who had deposed their brother-in-law, and 
the death of Frederic in April, 1533, put an end to 
the scheme.^ 

Another suitor now came forward in the person of 
Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan. This Prince was 
the younger brother of Massimiliano Sforza, who as 
a boy had spent several years at the Court of Malines, 
and had been deposed by Francis I . after a brief reign 
of three years. Born at Milan on the 4th of February, 
1495, when his father, Lodovico, was at the height of 
his glory, and named after his grandfather, the great 
Condottiere, Francesco II. had been the sport of 
Fortune from his childhood. Before he was two 
years old, his mother, the brilliant Duchess Beatrice, 
died, and when he was five his father lost both 
throne and freedom. While the unfortunate Moro 
ended his days in the dungeons of Loches, his young 
children were brought up in Germany by their cousin 
Bianca, the second wife of the Emperor Maximilian. 
Francesco spent most of his time at Innsbruck, and, 
after the brief interlude of his brother's reign at 
Milan, retired once more to Trent. His opportunity 
came in 1521, when Leo X., in his dread of France^ 
joined with Charles V. to place the younger Sforza 
on his father's throne. A gallant soldier and culti- 
vated man, Francesco II. won the hearts of all his 
subjects, who rejoiced to see a Sforza Duke again 
among them. But misfortune dogged his footsteps. 
In 1523 Milan was once more taken by the French, 
and after their defeat at Pavia the Duke incurred 
the Emperor's displeasure, and was deprived of his 
^ Schafer, iv. 204, 209. 



1533-35] FRANCESCO SFORZA 73 

State, chiefly owing to the intrigues of his Chancellor, 
Morone, with Pope Clement VII. It was only in 
December, 1529, when Charles came to Bologna for 
his coronation, that, at the intercession of the Pope 
and the Venetians, he consented to pardon Francesco, 
and give him the investiture of Milan for the enormous 
sum of 900,000 ducats. But it was a barren realm 
to which the Duke returned. His subjects were 
ruined by years of warfare, his own health had 
suffered severely from the hardships which he had 
undergone, and he had been dangerously wounded by 
the poisoned dagger of an assassin. At thirty-eight 
he was a broken man, prematurely old and grey. 
The Venetian chronicler Marino Sanuto, who saw the 
Duke at Venice in October, 1530, describes him as 
looking very melancholy, and being only able to walk 
and move his hands with difficulty.^ He applied him- 
self, however, manfully to the almost hopeless task of 
relieving the distress of his subjects and restoring 
order and prosperity. With great difficulty he 
succeeded in raising 400,000 ducats, the first instal- 
ment of the payment for the investiture of Milan, 
upon which the Castello was restored to him. His 
loyalty and modesty had gone far to recover the 
Emperor's confidence, and Charles treated him with 
marked favour and kindness. 

This encouraged Francesco to aspire to the hand 
of a Princess of the imperial house. His subjects 
were exceedingly anxious to see their Duke married, 
and already more than one suitable bride had been 
proposed. But Margherita Paleologa, the heiress of 
Montferrat, whom her mother would gladly have 
given Francesco in marriage, was wedded to his 

^ " Diarii," liii. 231. 



74 CHRISTINA, DUCHESS OF MILAN [Bk. iv 

cousin Federico, Duke of Mantua, in October, 1531, 
and the Pope's niece, the Duchessina Caterina de' 
Medici, another prize who had been dangled before 
the Duke of Milan's eyes, was betrothed to the Duke 
of Orleans in the following year. Before this event 
was announced, in January, 1532, the Milanese 
Ambassador, Camillo Ghilino, who had accompanied 
Charles to Brussels, ventured to ask the Emperor, 
on his master's behalf, for the hand of one of his 
nieces. Charles was evidently not averse to the 
proposal. It was part of his policy to consolidate 
the different Italian dynasties, and he was alive to 
the advantage of drawing the Duke of Milan into 
his family circle. But he returned an evasive answer, 
saying that Princess Dorothea was already destined 
for the King of Scotland, while her sister Christina 
was too young, and that he could arrange nothing 
without the consent of her father, the King of Den- 
mark, who had gone to Norway to try and recover 
his kingdom.^ When Francesco met Charles at 
Bologna in the following December, and was admitted 
to the newly-formed League of Italian States, he re- 
newed his suit, and once more asked for Christina's 
hand. On the loth of March Charles came to Milan, 
and spent four days in the Castello, after which he 
accompanied the Duke on a hunting-party at Vigevano, 
and enjoyed excellent sport, killing two wild-boars 
and three stags with his own hand.^ During this 
visit the marriage was arranged, and on the loth o* 
June, 1533, the contract was signed at Barcelona 
by the Emperor on the one hand, and the Chancellor 
of Milan, Count Taverna, and the ducal Chamberlain, 

* Altmeyer, " Relations," etc., 298; Sanuto, Iv. 389, 414. 
2 Sanuto, Ivii. 610, 637. 



1533-35] THE DUKE'S COURTS,HIP 75 

Count Tommaso Gallerati, on the other. Christina 
was to receive 100,000 ducats out of the sum due to 
the Emperor, as her dowry, and in the event of 
Dorothea succeeding to the throne of Denmark 
another 100,000 was to be settled on her. Hawkins, 
the Enghsh Ambassador, who wrote home from 
Barcelona to announce the conclusion of the marriage, 
remarked that the Milanese had left well pleased, 
but that the Duke was somewhat to be pitied, since 
he was only to have the younger sister, and no fortune 
with her. " Dower getteth he none."^ 

In spite of this drawback, the Milanese received 
the news with great rejoicing, and any regret which 
they might have felt at the substitution of the younger 
for the elder sister was dispelled by the Spaniards 
in the Emperor's suite, who informed the Duke's 
Ambassadors that Christina was taller and far more 
beautiful than Dorothea. Francesco himself wrote 
to an old friend in Cremona, Giorgio Guazzo, saying 
that he would lose no time in telling him of his great 
good fortune in winning so high-born and attractive 
a young lady for his bride .^ At the same time he 
agreed with the Emperor to send Count Massimiliano 
Stampa, his intimate friend, to the Netherlands, to 
wed the Princess in his name, and bring her to Milan 
that autumn. Meanwhile the news of the marriage 
was received with much less satisfaction in the Low 
Countries. Mary had taken the motherless children 
to her heart, and was especially attached to Christina, 
who resembled her in character and tastes. She in- 
herited the family passion for riding and hunting, and 
combined her aunt's intelligence and ability with 

^ State Papers, Record Office, vii. 465. 

2 M. Sanuto, Ivii. 157; A. Campo, " Storia di Cremona," 107. 



'je CHRISTINA, DUCHESS OF MILAN [Bk. iv 

her mother's sweetness of disposition. The idea of 
marrying this charming child of eleven to a half- 
paralyzed invalid old enough to be her father was 
repulsive, and Mary did not hesitate to protest against 
the Emperor's decision with characteristic frankness. 

" MoNSEiGNEUR," she wrote to Charles on the 25th of 
August, " I have received Your Majesty's letters with 
the copy of the treaty which you have been pleased 
to make between our niece, Madame Chretienne, and 
the Duke of Milan, on which point I must once for all 
relieve my conscience. I will at least show you the 
difficulties which to my mind lie in the way, so that 
Your Majesty may consider if any remedy can be 
devised before the matter is finally arranged. As for 
our said niece, I have no doubt that she will agree 
to whatever you please to wish, since she regards you 
as her lord and father, in whom she places absolute 
trust, and is ready to obey you as your very humble 
daughter and slave. The child is so good and willing 
there will be no need for any persuasion on my part, 
either as regards the Count's coming or anything else 
that you may please to command; but on the other 
hand, Monseigneur, since the words of the treaty 
clearly show that the marriage is to be consummated 
immediately, and she will have to take her departure 
without delay, I must point out that she is not yet 
old enough for this, being only eleven years and a 
half, and I hold that it would be contrary to the 
laws of God and reason to marry her at so tender an 
age. She is still quite a child, and, whatever may 
be the custom in yonder country, you are exposing 
her to the risk of bearing a child at this tender age, 
and of losing both her own life and that of her issue. 
Monseigneur, I am sajdng more than I ought to say, 
and speaking with a freedom which I can only beg 
you to forgive, because both my conscience and the 
love which I bear the child constrain me to write 
thus. On the other hand, seeing that this treaty 
requires the two sisters to make certain promises, 
I do not think that she is old enough to enter into 
these engagements, while her sister, although turned 



1533-35] MARY'S PROTEST, n 

twelve, is very young of her age, and should hardly 
make these promises without the consent of her 
father, who is still living. I know that I am meddling 
with other people's business by writing to you of 
those matters which are not, strictly speaking, my 
affair. But I feel that I must send you these warnings, 
not from any wish to prevent the marriage, if Your 
Majesty thinks it well, but in order to give you a 
reason for breaking it off, if any difficulties should 
arise. For it seems to me, that as people often try 
to discover the fifth wheel in the coach, where there 
is no reason to make any difficulty, it would be easy 
to find some excuse for embroiling matters, when so 
good a cause exists. I quite understand that it may 
not be easy to alter the treaty at this hour, but, since 
I had not the opportunity of speaking to you on 
the subject before, I feel it to be my duty to warn 
you of these things, and to remind you of the child's 
tender age, of which Your Majesty may not have 
been aware. However this may be, Monseigneur, I 
have written this to fulfil my duty to God, as well as 
to Your Majesty, my niece, and the whole world, 
and can only beg you not to take what I have said 
in bad part, or to believe that any other cause could 
have led me to speak so plainly ; and I take my Creator 
to witness that this is true, begging Him to give you 
health and long life, and grant your good and virtuous 
desires : 

" Your very humble and obedient sister, 

" Marie. 

" From Ghent, August 25, 1533." ^ 

Charles answered the Queen's protest in the follow- 
ing brief letter, which showed that his mind was 
made up, and that he would allow no change in his 
plans : 

" Madame my good Sister, 

" I have received your letter, and will only 
reply briefly, as I am writing to you at length on other 
matters by my secretary, and also because my niece's 

1 Lanz, ii. 87, 88. 



78 CHRISTINA, DUCHESS OF MILAN [Bk. iv 

affair is rather a matter for priests and lawyers 
than for me, and I have desired Granvelle to satisfy 
your objections. So I will only tell you that, as 
the children's father is more dead to them than if 
he had ceased to live, I signed the marriage treaty 
before I left Barcelona. As for the question of issue, 
I fear that the Duke's advanced years will prove a 
greater barrier than my niece's tender youth. I 
am sure that you will act in accordance with my 
wishes, and I beg you to do this once more. 

"From Monzone, September ii, 1533."^ 

There was clearly nothing more to be said; but 
Mary had secretly determined, whatever happened, 
not to allow the actual marriage to take place until 
the following year, and in the end she had her way. 



II. 

When the Emperor wrote this letter to his sister, 
Count Massimiliano had already started on his journey. 
He left Milan on the eve of St. Bartholomew, 
taking Count Francesco Sfondrati of Cremona and 
Pier Francesco Bottigella of Pavia with him, and 
travelled by Trent and Spires to Louvain, where he 
arrived on the 12th of September. The next day 
he was conducted to Ghent by Monsieur de Courrieres, 
the Captain of the Archers' Guard, and met at the 
palace gates by Monsieur de Molembais, the Queen's 
Grand Falconer, who informed him that Her Majesty 
was laid up, owing to a slight accident out hunting, 
and could not receive him at present. After many 
delays, Stampa at length succeeded in obtaining an 
audience, and begged the Queen earnestly to satisfy 
his master's impatience, and allow the marriage to 

^ Lanz, ii. 89. 



1533-35] STAMPA'S MISSION 79 

be concluded without delay. Mary replied very civilly 
that, since this was Caesar's will, she would certainly 
put no obstacle in the way, but explained that affairs 
of State compelled her to visit certain frontier towns, 
and begged the Count to await her return to Brussels. 
She then sent for the Princesses, and Stampa was 
presented and allowed to kiss their hands. But, as he 
only saw them for five minutes, all he could tell his 
master was that Christina seemed very bright and 
lively, and was much better-looking than her sister.^ 

In spite of the courtesy with which he was enter- 
tained by De Courrieres and the Duke of Aerschot, 
Stampa clearly saw that it was Mary's intention to 
delay the marriage as long as possible, and began to 
despair of ever attaining his object. Fortunately, 
by the end of the week the Emperor's confidential 
Chamberlain, Louis de Praet, arrived at Ghent. 
De Praet had been Ambassador in England and 
France, and was now sent from Spain to represent 
His Majesty at the wedding and escort the bride to 
Milan. When he had seen Stampa's copy of the 
Treaty of Barcelona, he advised him to join the Queen 
at Lille and deliver his credentials. Here the Count 
accordingly presented himself on the i8th of Sep- 
tember, and was graciously received by Mary, who 
assured him that the affair which lay so near his 
heart would shortly be arranged. He was con- 
ducted into a room where he found the Princesses 
and their governess, Madame de Fiennes, and con- 
versed with them for half an hour. When the Queen 
rose to attend vespers, she touched the Count's sleeve 
and made him walk at her side as far as the chapel, 
and thanked him for the fine horse which the Duke 
^ Archivio di Stato, Milan, Carteggio Diplomatico, 1533. 



8o CHRISTINA, DUCHESS OF MILAN [Bk. iv 

had sent her, telling him how fond she was of hunting. 
The next day Stampa was invited to supper, and 
afterwards ventured to ask if he might see the 
Princesses dance. To this request the Queen gave 
her consent. The flutes and tambourines struck up 
a merry tune, and the Princesses danced first a ballo 
al francese, then a branle, and a variety of French 
and German dances, in which the gentlemen and 
ladies-in-waiting took part. The Count was about 
to take his leave, since the hour was already late, 
when De Praet told him he must first see the Princesses 
dance a ballo all'italiano, upon which the two sisters 
rose and, joining hands, danced an Italian ballet 
with charming grace. The Ambassador was delighted, 
and wrote to tell his master what a favourable im- 
pression Christina had made upon him and his 
companions : 

" She is hardly shorter than her sister, and much 
handsomer and more graceful, and is indeed as well 
built and attractive a maiden as you could wish to 
see. God grant this may lead to a happy marriage !"^ 

The next morning business began in good earnest. 
Prolonged negotiations were held between Stampa 
and the Queen's Councillors — Aerschot, De Praet, 
and other nobles — and the rights of the Princess 
Dorothea and the condition of Denmark were fully 
discussed. While the Count was at dinner, De Praet 
came in, and, to his surprise, informed him that Her 
Majesty wished the wedding to be celebrated on the 
following Sunday, the 28th of September. The Count 
asked nothing better, and hastened to send the good 
news to Milan. 

On Saturday evening Christina signed the marriage 

* Archivio di Stato, Milano, Carteggio Diplomatico, 1533. 



1533-35] CHRISTINA'S WEDDING 8i 

contract before an illustrious assembly in a hall of 
the palace at Lille, which was hung with black and 
gold damask for the occasion, and between four and 
five on Sunday afternoon the wedding was solemnized 
by the Bishop of Tournay in the chapel. Count 
Massimiliano, gallantly arrayed in cloth of gold, was 
conducted to the altar by De Praet and the great 
officers of State ; the violins and drums sounded, and 
the bridal procession entered, the Queen leading her 
niece by the hand. " As the Bishop placed the 
nuptial ring on the bride's finger," wrote Stampa to 
his lord, " she received it with evident pleasure, and 
all the Court displayed great satisfaction." 

When the ceremony was over, the bride retired, and 
Stampa spent some time in conversation with the 
Queen, vainly endeavouring to persuade her to fix 
a date for the Duchess's journey. But on this point 
Mary was inflexible. De Praet, who visited him the 
next day, explained that the Queen could not allow 
this youthful lady to be exposed to the perils and 
fatigue of so long a journey in winter, and that her 
departure must therefore be put off till the following 
spring. This was a grievous disappointment to the 
Count, who knew how anxious the Duke was to see 
his wife. But he had to accept the situation, and 
could only try and console his master by repeating 
the Queen's assurances of good-will and affection. 

She even begged the Count to join her in a hunting 
expedition at Brussels in the following week. But 
this Stampa firmly declined, saying that he must 
return to Milan without delay. On the same evening 
he had the honour of a parting interview with the 
Duchess, and presented her with a fine diamond 
and ruby ring and a length of costly brocade in her 



82 CHRISTINA, DUCHESS OF MILAN [Bk. iv 

lord's name. Christina's eyes sparkled with delight 
at the sight of these gifts, and she thanked Count 
Massimiliano with a warmth which captivated him. 
Then he took leave of the Queen, who started at 
break of day in torrents of rain, to hunt on her way 
to Brussels, leaving the Princesses to return by 
Tournay. The Count himself went to Antwerp to 
raise money for his journey, and despatched a 
messenger to Milan with full accounts of the wedding. 

" All this Court and the Queen herself," he wrote, 
" are delighted with this happy event. And Your 
Excellency may rejoice with good reason, and may 
rest assured that you have the fairest, most charming 
and gallant bride that any man could desire."^ 

These despatches reached Milan on the 13th of 
October, and were received with acclamation. Guns 
were fired from the Castello, the bells of all the churches 
were rung, and the Senate went in solemn procession 
to give thanks to God in the Duomo. "It was 
indeed good tidings of great joy," wrote the chronicler 
Burigozzo, " and such rejoicing had not been known 
^n Milan for many years." ^ Francesco's own satis- 
faction was considerably diminished by hearing that 
his bride was not to set out on her journey until the 
following February. But he took the Queen's decision 
in good part, and wrote to express his eternal grati- 
tude to her and Caesar for giving him their niece. 

" However anxious I naturally am to have my 
wife with me," he added, " I recognize the gravity 
of the reasons which have made you put off her 
journey to a more convenient season, and think, as 
you say, this should take place next February."^ 

^ Carteggio Diploma tico, 1533, Archivio di Stato, Milan. 

2 G. M. Burigozzo, " Cronaca Milanese," 1500-1544, p. 516; 
"Archivio Storico Italiano," iii. {1842). 

3 Potenze Sovrane, 1533-34, Archivio di Stato, Milan. 



1533-35] THE DUKE'S APPEAL 83 

The Duke sent this letter by a special messenger, 
and received in reply the following brief note in 
ItaHan from Christina : 

" Most illustrious Consort, 

"It gave me great pleasure to hear of Your 
Excellency's good health from Messer Sasso, and I 
can assure you that my wish to join you is no less 
ardent than your own. But it is only reasonable that 
we should bow to the decision of the Most Serene 
Queen, who orders everything wisely and well. I 
will only add how sincerely I hope that you will keep 
well, and love me as much as I love you. 
" Your Excellency's most loving consort, 

" Christierna, Duchess of Milan. 

"From Brussels, November 4, 1533."^ 

On the last day of January, 1534, the Duke held 
a Council of State to consider the best means of 
raising the ;^ 100,000 due to Caesar, which was 
assigned to his niece for dower, and the citizens 
agreed cheerfully to new taxes on grain and wine 
in order to provide the necessary amount. But it 
was not until the 31st of March that Francesco was 
able to issue a proclamation informing the Milanese 
that his wife had started on her journey. The 
Duchess, he told them, would be among them by the 
end of April, and he could count on his loyal subjects 
to receive her with due honour; but, knowing as he 
did their poverty, he begged that the customary 
wedding gift should be omitted. The Milanese re- 
sponded with enthusiasm to their Duke's appeal, ^nd 
prepared to give his bride a worthy reception. Their 
example was followed by the citizens of Novara, 
Vigevano, and the other towns along the route between 
Savoy and Milan. The roads, which were said to be 

* Autografi di Principi Sforza, Archivio di Stato, Milan. 



84 CHRISTINA, DUCHESS OF MILAN [Bk. iv 

the worst in the duchy, were mended, triumphal 
arches were erected, and lodgings were prepared for 
her reception. The following quaintly- worded memor- 
andum was drawn up by Councillor Pier Francesco 
Bottigella, to whom these arrangements were en- 
trusted : 

" (i) Mend the roads and clean the streets through 
which the Lady Duchess will pass, and hang the 
walls with tapestries and carpets, the largest and 
widest that you can find. (2) Paint her arms on all 
the gates through which she passes. (3) Provide a 
baldacchino to be carried over her head. (4) See 
that lodgings are prepared for her at Novara, either 
in the Bishop's palace or in the ducal hunting-lodge, 
and let these be cleansed and decorated. (5) Prepare 
rooms in the town for the Duchess's household. 
(6) Let this also be done in the Casteilo Vecchio at 
Vigevano. (7) Desire that no gifts of any kind 
should be made to the Duchess at Novara, Vigevano, 
or any other place." ^ 

When these instructions had been duly carried out, 
Bottigella, who had accompanied Stampa on his 
mission to the Low Countries, and was already 
acquainted with the chief members of the Duchess's 
suite, set out for Chambery by the Duke's orders, to 
meet the bride on the frontiers of Savoy and escort 
her across the Alps. 

III. 

Christina had now completed her twelfth year, 
and Mary of Hungary could no longer invent any 
excuse to delay her journey to Milan. The bridal 
party finally set out on the nth of March, conducted 
by Monseigneur de Praet, the Emperor's representa- 

^ Potenze Sovxane, Archivio di Stato, Milan. 



April, 1534] A WEDDING JOURNEY 85 

tive, and Camillo Ghilino, the Duke's Ambassador, 
with an escort of 130 horse. Madame de Souvastre, 
one of MaximiHan's illegitimate daughters, whose 
husband had been one of the late Regent's con- 
fidential servants, was appointed mistress of the 
Duchess's household, which consisted of six maids 
of honour, six waiting- women, four pages, and ten 
gentlemen. Christina herself rode in a black velvet 
litter, drawn by four horses and attended by six 
footmen, and her ladies travelled in similar fashion, 
followed by twenty mules and three waggons with 
the baggage. Mary had taken care that the bride's 
trousseau was worthy of a daughter of the imperial 
house, and the chests were filled with sumptuous 
robes of cloth of gold and silver, of silk, satin, and 
velvet, costly furs, jewels and pearls, together with 
furniture and plate for her table and chapel, and 
liveries and trappings for her servants and horses. 
The Duchess's own lackeys and all the gentlemen in 
attendance wore coats and doublets of black velvet, 
and the other servants, we learn from John Hackett, 
the English Ambassador at Brussels, were clad in 
suits of " medley grey," trimmed with velvet, all 
" very well accounted."^ The imposing cortege 
travelled by slow stages through the friendly duchy 
of Lorraine and across the plains of the imperial 
county of Burgundy, taking journeys of twelve or 
fifteen miles a day, until, on the 12th of April, it 
halted at Chambery, the frontier town of Savoy. 
The reigning Duke, Charles III., was the Emperor's 
brother-in-law and stanch ally, and the travellers 
were hospitably entertained in his ancestral castle on 
the heights. Here Bottigella was introduced into 
* State Papers, Record Of&ce, vii. 545. 

7 



86 CHRISTINA, DUCHESS OF MILAN [Bk. iv 

Christina's presence by his old friend Camillo Ghilino, 
and found her on the way to attend Mass in the 
castle chapel. 

" The Duchess," wrote the Councillor to his lord, 
" received me in the most friendly manner, and asked 
eagerly after you, and was especially anxious to 
know where you were now. I told her that you were 
at Vigevano, but would shortly return to Milan, to 
prepare for her arrival. Mass was just beginning, so 
I had to take my leave, but hope for another oppor- 
tunity of conversing with her before long, and can 
see how eager she is to ask a hundred questions. She 
is very well and lively, and does not seem any the 
worse for the long journey. She has grown a great 
deal since I saw her last September, and is as beautiful 
as the sun. M. de Praet hopes to reach Turin in 
seven days, and will start again to-morrow." -"^ 

The most arduous part of the journey now lay 
before the travellers. Leaving Chambery, they pene- 
trated into the heart of the Alps, through the narrow 
gorge of the I sere, between precipitous ravines with 
castles crowning the rocks on either side, until they 
reached the impregnable fortress of Montmelian, the 
ancient bulwark of Savoy, which had resisted all the 
assaults of the French. After spending the night 
here, they rode up the green pastures and pine-clad 
slopes of S. Jean de Maurienne, and began the ascent 
of the Mont Cenis, over ' ' those troublesome and 
horrid ways " of which English travellers complained 
so bitterly, where loose stones and tumbled rocks 
made riding almost impossible. " These ways, in- 
deed," wrote Cory at, " are the worst I ever travelled 
in my life, so much so that the roads of Savoy may 
be proverbially spoken of as the owls of Athens, the 
pears of Calabria, or the quails of Delos."^ On the 

^ Potenze Sovrane, Archivio di Stato, Milan. 

2 T. Coryat, " Crudities," i. 215; "Hardwick Papers," i. 85. 



April, 1534] BEATRIX OF SAVOY 87 

summit of the pass De Praet and his companions 
saw with interest the Chapel of Our Lady of the 
Snows, where a few years before the famous Constable 
of Bourbon had offered up his sword on the altar of 
the Virgin, as he led the imperial armies across the 
Alps. Then they came down into a smiling green 
valley, with walnut woods and rushing streams, and 
saw the medieval towers of Susa at their feet. Here 
they were met by the Emperor's Ambassador at the 
Court of Savoy, who came to pay his respects to the 
Duchess, bringing with him two elegant litters of 
crimson brocade, sent by Charles's sister-in-law, 
Beatrix of Portugal, Duchess of Savoy, for Christina's 
use. At Rivoli, two stages farther on, fifty Coun- 
cillors from Turin, with the Bishop of Vercelli at their 
head, appeared on horseback to escort the Duchess 
to the city gates. Here Christina mounted her horse 
and rode up the steep ascent to the citadel, with 
De Praet walking at her side. The beautiful Duchess 
Beatrix herself awaited her guest at the castle gates, 
and, embracing Christina affectionately, led her by 
the hand up the grand staircase into the best suite 
of rooms in the palace. The travellers spent two 
days in these comfortable quarters, and enjoyed the 
brief interval of rest, although the Duchess, as Botti- 
gella was careful to tell the Duke, seemed the least 
tired of the whole party, and was in blooming health 
and high spirits. 

On the following Sunday Christina rode into 
Novara, on a brilliant spring morning, and was 
lodged in the Bishop's palace, and received with the 
greatest enthusiasm by her lord's subjects. At 
Vigevano, the birthplace and favourite home of 
Lodovico Sforza, the nobles, with Massimiliano Stampa 



88 CHRISTINA, DUCHESS OF MILAN [Bk. iv 

at their head, rode out to welcome the Duke's bride, 
and carried a rich baldacchino over her head. Never- 
theless, halfway between Novara and Vigevano, De 
Praet complained to the Count that neither the re- 
ception of the Duchess nor the rooms prepared for 
her were sufficiently honourable — " in fact, he found 
fault with everything." The Count expressed some 
surprise, since both the Emperor Maximilian and 
Charles V. himself had stayed at Vigevano, and the 
latter had greatly admired the buildings and gardens 
laid out by Bramante and Leonardo. But, to pacify 
the exacting priest, Stampa proposed that the Duchess 
should only take her dejeuner in the castle, and push 
on to his own villa of Cussago, where she was to 
spend some days before entering Milan. But De 
Praet replied that the Duchess, not being yet accus- 
tomed to this climate, felt the heat of the sun, and 
must on no account ride any farther till evening. 
So all the Count could do was to send Bottigella on 
to see that the Castello was adorned with wreaths 
of flowers and verdure, and that a good bed was 
prepared for the Duchess.^ 

At least, De Praet could find nothing to grumble 
at in Stampa's country-house at Cussago, the ducal 
palace and hunting-grounds which had been given 
him by Francesco II. in reward for his unwavering 
loyalty. The beauty of the spot, the delicious 
gardens with their sunny lawns and sparkling foun- 
tains, their rose and myrtle bowers, their bosquets 
and running streams, enchanted the travellers from 
the north. The villa had been adorned with frescoes 
and marble doorways by the best Lombard masters 
of the Moro's Court, and was once the favourite 
country-house of Beatrice d'Este, the present Duke's 

^ Potenze Sovrane, Archivio di Stato, Milan. 



May. 1534] CHRISTINA'S HUSBAND 89 

mother, who often rode out from Milan to hunt in 
the forests of the Brianza or play at ball on the 
terraces. Now her son's child-bride saw these green 
lawns in all the loveliness of early summer, and the 
frescoed halls rang once more to the sound of mirth 
and laughter. Music and dancing enlivened the days, 
and a drama — La Sposa Sagace — was acted one even- 
ing to amuse Christina. At nightfall the guns of the 
Castello, firing salutes in her honour, were heard in the 
distance, and the bonfires on the towers of Milan lit up 
the evening sky with crimson glow. Count Massi- 
miliano took care that nothing should be lacking to 
the enjoyment of the Duchess, and begged De Praet 
to attend to her comfort in every particular, but, as 
he told the Duke, it was not always easy to satisfy 
these gentlemen. 

One day Christina and her ladies received a visit 
from the great Captain Antonio de Leyva, the Duke's 
old enemy, who now came, cap in hand, to pay 
homage to the Emperor's niece. Another day there 
was a still greater stir at the villa, for the Duke 
himself appeared unexpectedly, having ridden out 
almost alone, to pay a surprise visit to his bride. 
The first sight of her future lord must have given 
Christina a shock, and her ladies whispered to each 
other that this wan, grey-haired man, who could not 
walk without the help of a stick, was hardly a fit 
match for their fair young Princess. But Francesco's 
chivalrous courtesy and gentleness went far to atone 
for his physical defects, and nothing could exceed the 
kindness which he showed his youthful bride. After 
all, she was but a child, and the sight of this new 
world that was laid at her feet with all its beauties 
and treasures was enough to dazzle her eyes and 
please her innocent fancy. 



90 CHRISTINA, DUCHESS OF MILAN [Bk. iv 

On Sunday, the 3rd of May, the Duchess made her 
state entry into Milan. Early in the afternoon she 
rode in her litter to S. Eustorgio, the Dominican 
convent outside the Ticino gate, where she was 
received by the Duke's half-brother, Giovanni Paolo 
Sforza, mounted on a superb charger, and attended 
by all his kinsmen, clad in white and gold. After 
paying her devotions at the marble shrine of S. Pietro 
Martive, the Prior and friars conducted her to partake 
of refreshments in the guests' hall, and receive the 
homage of the Bishop and clergy, of the magistrates 
and senators. At six o'clock, after vespers, the 
procession started from the Porta Ticinese. First 
came the armourers and their apprentices, in com- 
panies of 200, with coloured flags in their hands 
and plumes to match in their caps. One troop 
was in blue, the other in green. At the head of the 
first rode Alessandro Missaglia, a splendid figure, 
wearing a silver helmet and shining armour over his 
turquoise velvet vest, and mounted on a horse with 
richly damascened harness. The green troop was 
led by Girolamo Negriolo, the other famous Milanese 
armourer. Then came 300 archers in pale blue silk, 
and six bands of trumpeters and drummers, followed by 
a great company of the noblest gentlemen of Milan, all 
clad in white, with flowing plumes in their hats and 
lances in their hands, riding horses draped with silver 
brocade. Visconti, Trivulzio, Borromeo, Somaglia — 
all the proudest names of Milan were there, and in the 
rear rode the veteran Antonio de Leyva, with the 
Emperor's representative, De Praet, at his side. 

Immediately behind them, under a white and gold 
velvet baldacchino, borne by the doctors of the 
University, rode the bride, mounted on a white horse 



May, 1534] THE BRIDE'S ENTRY 91 

with glittering trappings, and wearing a rich white 
brocade robe and a long veil over her flowing hair — 
" a vision more divine than human," exclaims the 
chronicler who witnessed the sight ; " only," he adds 
^n an undertone, " she is still very young." At 
the sight of the lovely child the multitude broke into 
shouts of joy, and the clashing of bells, the blare of 
trumpets, and sound of guns, welcomed the coming 
of the Duchess. Close behind her rode Cardinal 
Ercole Gonzaga, the Duke's cousin, and on either 
side a guard of twelve noble youths, with white 
ostrich feathers in their caps, so that Her Excellency 
" appeared to be surrounded with a forest of waving 
plumes." In the rear came Madame de Souvastre 
and her ladies in litters, followed by a crowd of 
senators, bishops, and magistrates. 

Six triumphal arches, adorned with statues and 
paintings, lined the route. Peace with her olive- 
branch. Plenty with the cornucopia, Prosperity 
bearing a caduceus, Joy crowned with flowers, wel- 
comed the bride in turn. Everywhere the imperial 
eagles were seen together with the Sforza arms, 
and countless mottoes with courtly allusions to the 
golden age that had at length dawned for distracted 
Milan. " Thy coming, O Christina, confirms the 
peace of Italy !" On the piazza of the Duomo, a 
pageant of the Seasons greeted her — Spring with 
arms full of roses. Summer laden with ripe ears of 
corn. Autumn bearing purple grapes, and Winter 
wrapt in snowy fur; while Minerva was seen closing 
the doors of the Temple of Janus, and Juno and 
Hymen, with outstretched arms, hailed Francesco, 
the son of the great Lodovico, and Christina, the 
daughter of Dacia and Austria. At the steps of 



92 CHRISTINA, DUCHESS OF MILAN [Bk. iv 

the Duomo the long procession halted. Cardinal 
Gonzaga helped the Duchess to alight, and led her to 
the altar, where she knelt in silent prayer, kissed the 
pax held up to her by the Archbishop, and received 
his benediction. The walls of the long nave were 
hung with tapestries, and the choir draped with cloth 
of gold and adorned with statues of the patron saints 
of Milan. " When you entered the doors," wrote 
the chronicler, " you seemed to be in Paradise." 

Then the Duchess mounted her horse again, and 
the procession passed up the Goldsmiths' Street to 
the Castello. Here the decorations were still more 
sumptuous. One imposing arch was adorned with 
a painting of St. John leaning on the bosom of Christ, 
copied from Leonardo's " Cenacolo " in the refectory of 
S. Maria delle Grazie. Another bore a figure of Christ 
with the orb and sceptre, and the words " Mercy and 
Truth have kissed each other." On the piazza in 
front of the Castello, a colossal fountain was 
erected, and winged children spouted wine and 
perfumed water. The Castello itself had been elabor- 
ately adorned. The arms of Denmark and Milan were 
carved in fine marble over the portals, the walls were 
hung with blue draperies studded with golden stars 
and wreathed with garlands of myrtle and ivy, and on 
either side of the central doorway two giant warriors 
leaning on clubs supported a tablet crowned with the 
imperial eagles, and inscribed with the words: "The 
wisest of Princes to-day weds the fairest of Virgins, 
and brings us the promise of perpetual peace." ^ 

^ M. Guazzo, " Historic d'ltalia," 272-275; P. Avenati, " En- 
trata Solemne di Cristina di Spagna"; MS. Continuazione della 
Storia di Corio, O. 240 (Biblioteca Arabrosiana) . 




CHRISTINA, DUCHESS OF MILAN (1534) 
(Oppenheimer Collection) 




FRANCESCO SFORZA, DUKE OF MILAN (1534) 
(British Museum) 



To face p. 92 



May, 1534] IN THE CASTELLO 93 

As the procession reached the gates of the Castello, 
a triumphant burst of martial music was sounded 
by the trumpeters on the topmost tower, and Count 
Massimiliano, the Castellan, presented the golden 
keys of the gates to the Duchess, on bended knee. 
Christina received them with a gracious smile, and, 
accepting his hand, alighted from her horse, amid 
the cheers of the populace, who, rushing in on all 
sides, seized the baldacchino, tore the costly brocade 
into ribbons, and divided the spoil. Meanwhile the 
Duke, leaning on a stick, received his wife with a 
deep reverence, and led her by the hand into the 
beautiful suite of rooms, hung with mulberry-coloured 
velvet and cloth of gold, which had been prepared for 
her use.^ Cardinal Gonzaga and De Praet supped 
with the bride and bridegroom that evening, to the 
sweet melodies of the Duke's flutes and viols. The 
gates of the Castello were closed, enormous bonfires 
blazed on the walls, and rockets went up to heaven 
from the top of the great tower. Thousands of 
torches illumined the darkness, and the streets were 
thronged with gay crowds, who gladly took advantage 
of the Duke's permission and gave themselves up to 
mirth and revelry all night long. Long was that 
day remembered in Milan. Old men who could 
recall the reign of Lodovico, and had witnessed 
the coming of Beatrice and the marriage of Bianca, 
wept, and thanked God that they had lived to see this 
day. But their joy was destined to be of short 
duration. 

^ C. Magenta, " I Visconti e gli Sforza nel Castello di Pa via," 
i. 750; Nubilonio, " Cronaca di Vigevano," 131. 



94 CHRISTINA, DUCHESS OF MILAN [Bk. iv 

IV. 

At six o'clock on the evening of the 4th of May 
the marriage of the Duke was finally celebrated in 
the hall of the Rocchetta, which was hung with cloth 
of gold beautifully decorated with garlands of 
flowers. Among the illustrious guests present were 
the Cardinal of Mantua, the Legate Caracciolo, Antonio 
de Leyva, and the chief nobles and senators. The 
Bishops of Modena and Vigevano chanted the nuptial 
Mass, and Monseigneur de Praet delivered a lengthy 
oration, which sorely tried the patience of his hearers. 
No sooner had he uttered the last words than the Duke 
took the bride's hand, and brought the ceremony to 
an abrupt conclusion by leading her into the banquet- 
hall. There a supper of delicate viands, fruit, and 
wines, was prepared, and the guests were entertained 
with music and songs during the evening.^ 

Letters of congratulation now poured in from all 
the Courts of Europe. Christina's own relatives — 
Ferdinand and Anna, the King and Queen of Hun- 
gary and Bohemia, the King and Queen of Portugal, the 
Elector of Saxony and the Marquis of Brandenburg — 
all congratulated the Duchess on her safe arrival and 
happy marriage ; while the Pope, the Doge of Venice, 
and other Italian Princes, sent the Duke cordial 
messages. One of the most interesting letters which 
the bridegroom received was an autograph epistle 
from his cousin. Bona Sforza, Queen of Poland, who 
would probably herself have been Duchess of Milan 
if Massimiliano Sforza had reigned longer. It had 
been the earnest wish of her widowed mother, 
Isabella of Aragon, to effect this union, and it was 

1 MS. Continuazione di Corio, O. 240 (Biblioteca Ambrosiana). 



May, 1534] ALFONSO D' ESTE, 95 

only after the French conquest of Milan in 1 5 1 5 that 
her daughter became the wife of King Sigismund. 
From her distant home Bona kept up an active 
correspondence with her Italian relatives, and now 
sent Francesco the following friendly letter : 

*' Dearest and most illustrious Cousin, 

" I rejoice sincerely to hear that your most 
illustrious wife has reached Milan safely. I feel 
the greatest joy at your happy marriage, and trust 
that Heaven will send you a fine son. My husband 
and children join with me in wishing you every pos- 
sible happiness. 

" Bona, Queen. 

" From Cracow, July 15, 1534." ^ 

Another of Francesco's illustrious kinsfolk, Alfonso 
d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, came to Milan in person to 
offer his congratulations to his nephew, although 
he preferred to remain incognito, and his name does 
not figure among the guests who were present at 
the wedding festivities. But Ferrarese chroniclers 
record that the Duke went to Milan on the 30th of 
April, to attend the wedding of Duke Francesco 
Sforza, who took for wife Madame Christierna, 
daughter of the King of Dacia, and returned home on 
the 6th of May .2 Forty-four years before, Alfonso, then 
a boy of fourteen, had accompanied his sister Beatrice 
to Milan for her marriage, and escorted his own bride, 
Anna Sforza, back to Ferrara. Now his long and 
troubled life was drawing to a close, and he died a few 
months after this last journey to Milan, on the 31st 
of October, 1534. By his last will he left two of his 
best horses and a pair of falcons to his beloved 
nephew, the Duke of Milan .^ Some writers have 

^ Autografi di Principi : Sforza, Archivio di Stato, Milan. 
2 F. Roddi, " Annali di Ferrara " (Harleian MSS. 3310). 
^ E. Gardiner, " A King of Court Poets," 355. 



96 CHRISTINA, DUCHESS OF MILAN [Bk. iv 

conjectured that Alfonso brought his favourite 
painter, Titian, to Milan, and that the Venetian 
master painted portraits of the Duke and Duchess 
on this occasion.^ No record of Titian's visit, how- 
ever, has been discovered, and he probably painted 
the portraits of Francesco and Christina from draw- 
ings sent to him at Venice. 

Titian's friend, Pietro Aretino, was in constant 
correspondence with Count Massimiliano Stampa, 
who rewarded his literary efforts with gifts of gold 
chains, velvet caps, and embroidered doublets. " I 
shall be clad in your presents all through the summer 
months," he wrote in a letter, signing himself, " Your 
younger brother and devoted servant." Aretino 
was not only profuse in thanks to this noble patron, 
but sent him choice works of art, mirrors of Oriental 
crystal, medals engraved by Anichino, and, best of 
all, a little painting of the youthful Baptist clasping 
a lamb, " so life-like that a sheep would bleat at the 
sight of it." 2 The wily Venetian was exceedingly 
anxious to ingratiate himself with the Duke of Milan, 
and not only dedicated a " Paraphase " to him on 
his marriage, but, according to Vasari, painted 
portraits of both the Duke and Duchess. These 
pictures were reproduced by Campo in the " History 
of Cremona," which he published in 1585, while 
Christina was still living. The portrait of Francesco 
was at that time the property of the Milanese noble 
Mario Amigone, while that of Christina hung in the 
house of Don Antonio Lomboni, President of the 
Magistrates.^ This last portrait was afterwards sent 
to Florence by order of the Grand-Duke Ferdinand, 

^ Crowe and Cavalcaselle, " Titian," i. 355. 

2 P. Aretino, " Lettere," i. 214. ^ A. Campo, 107. 



May, 1534] TITIAN'S PORTRAIT 97 

who married the Duchess's granddaughter, Christine 
of Lorraine. 

" I send Your Highness," wrote Guido Mazzenta in 
January, 1604, " the portrait of the Most Serene 
Lady, Christina, Queen of Denmark, and grand- 
mother of the Most Serene Grand-Duchess, painted 
by Titian, by order of Duke Francesco Sforza, when 
he brought her to Milan as his bride." ^ 

Unfortunately, this precious portrait was afterwards 
sent to Madrid, where it is said to have perished in 
a fire. In Campo's engraving the youthful Duchess 
wears a jewelled cap and pearl necklace, with an ermine 
cape on her shoulders. Her serene air and thoughtful 
expression recall Holbein's famous picture, and give 
an impression of quiet happiness and content which 
agrees with all that we know of her short married life. 

The change was great from Malines and Brussels, 
and Christina often missed her old playmates. 
But her simple, docile nature became easily accus- 
tomed to these new surroundings, and the affectionate 
little letters which she sent to her aunt and sister all 
breathe the same strain. " We are as happy and 
contented as possible," she writes to Dorothea ; and 
when Camillo Ghilino was starting for Germany, she 
sends a few words, at her lord's suggestion, to be 
forwarded to Flanders, just to tell her aunt how much 
she loves and thinks of her.^ 

Certainly, when we compare her lot with that of 
her mother, and remember the hardships and sorrows 
which the young Queen had to endure, Christina 
may well have counted herself fortunate. Her 
husband treated his child -wife with the greatest 

^ Gaye, " Carteggio," iii. 531. 

2 Autografi di Principi : Sforza, Archivio di Stato, Milan. 



98 CHRISTINA, DUCHESS OF MILAN [Bk. iv 

kindness. Her smallest wish was gratified, her tastes 
were consulted in every particular. The rooms 
which she occupied in the Rocchetta, where his mother, 
Duchess Beatrice, had lived, were hung with rich 
crimson velvet ; the walls of her bedroom were draped 
with pale blue silk; a new loggia was built, looking 
out on the gardens and moat waters. The breaches 
which French and Spanish guns had made in the 
walls were repaired, and the Castello resumed its old 
aspect. Three state carriages, lined with costly 
brocades and drawn by four horses draped with cloth 
of gold, were prepared by the Duke for his wife, and 
were first used by the Duchess on Ascension Day, 
when, ten days after her wedding, she made her first 
appearance in public. As she drove to the Duomo, 
followed by the Legate and Ambassadors, and escorted 
by a brilliant cavalcade of nobles, the streets were 
thronged with eager crowds, who greeted her with 
acclamation, and waited for hours to catch a sight 
of her face. On Corpus Christi, again, a few weeks 
later, the Duke and Duchess both came to see the 
long procession of Bishops and priests pass through 
the streets, bearing the host under a stately canopy 
from the Duomo to the ancient shrine of S . Ambrogio . 
The popularity of the young Duchess soon became 
unbounded. Her tall figure, dark eyes, and fair 
hair, excited the admiration of all her subjects, while 
her frank and kindly manners won every heart. 
Although prices went up in Milan that year, and the 
tolls on corn and wine were doubled, the people paid 
these dues cheerfully, and, when they sat down to a 
scanty meal, remarked that they must pay for Her 
Excellency's dinner.^ Fortunately, by the end of the 
* Burigozzo, 521. 



June, 1534] FRANCESCA PALEOLOGA 99 

year there was a considerable fall in prices, and a 
general sense of relief and security prevailed. 

To the Duke himself, as well as to his people, the 
coming of the Duchess brought new life. For a time 
his failing health revived in the sunshine of her 
presence. He threw himself with energy into the 
task of beautifying Milan and completing the fagade 
of the Duomo. At the same time he employed 
painters to decorate the Castello and Duomo of 
Vigevano, and an illuminated book of the Gospels, 
adorned with exquisite miniatures and bearing his arms 
and those of the Duchess, may still be seen in the Brera. 

Hunting-parties were held for Christina's amuse- 
ment both at Vigevano and in Count Massimiliano's 
woods at Cussago. Madame de Souvastre and most 
of the Duchess's Flemish attendants had returned to 
the Netherlands with De Praet, and Francesco took 
great pains to provide his wife with a congenial 
lady-in-waiting. His choice fell on Francesca Paleo- 
loga, a lady of the noble house of Montferrat, and 
cousin of the newly-married Duchess of Mantua. 
Her husband, Constantine Comnenus, titular Prince 
of Macedonia, had served under the Pope and 
Emperor ; and her daughter, Deianira, had lately 
married Count Gaspare Trivulzio, a former partisan 
of the French, who was now a loyal subject of the 
Duke. From this time the Princess of Macedonia 
became Christina's inseparable companion, and re- 
mained devotedly attached to the Duchess throughout 
her long life. At the same time Francesco appointed 
one of his secretaries, Benedetto da Corte of Pavia, 
to be master of the Duchess's household, and to teach 
her Italian, which she was soon able to speak and 
write fluently. 



loo CHRISTINA, DUCHESS OF MILAN [Bk. iv 

The Milanese archives contain several charming 
little notes written in Christina's large, round hand 
to the Duke during a brief visit which he paid to 
Vigevano, for change of air, in the summer of 1535 : 

" My Lord and dearest Husband, 

" I have received your dear letters, and rejoice 
to hear of your welfare. This has been a great 
comfort to me, but it will be a far greater pleasure to 
see you again. I look forward to your return with 
such impatience that a single hour seems as long 
as a whole year. May God keep you safe and bring 
you home again very soon, for I can enjoy nothing 
without Your Excellency. I am very well, thank 
God, and commend myself humbly to your good 
graces. Signora Francesca is also well, and com- 
mends herself to Your Highness. 

" Your very humble wife, 

" Christierna. 

" Milan, June 7, 1535. 

" The bearer of this letter has been very good to 
me." 

Francesco's health had lately given fresh cause for 
anxiety. He suffered from catarrh and fever, and 
was frequently confined to his bed. A Pavian Envoy 
who had been promised an audience had to leave 
the Castello without seeing His Excellency, and a 
visit which he and the Duchess had intended to pay 
to Pavia in the spring was put off, to the great dis- 
appointment of the loyal citizens. Now his absence 
was prolonged owing to a fresh attack of illness, and 
the young wife wrote again at the end of the month, 
lamenting the delay and expressing the same im- 
patience for his return : 

" My dearest Husband, 

" I was delighted, as I always am, with your 
dear letter of the 20th instant, but should have been 



June, 1535] DOROTHEA OF DENMARK loi 

much better pleased to see you and enjoy the pleasure 
of your presence, as I hoped to do by this time, 
especially as these Signors assured me that your 
absence would be short. But they were, it is plain, 
quite wrong. However, I must be reasonable, and 
if your prolonged absence is necessary I will not 
complain. I thank you for your kind excuses and 
explanations, but I will not thank you for saying that 
I need not trouble to write to you with my own 
hand, because this at least is labour well spent, and 
I am only happy when I can talk with Your Excel- 
lency or write to you, now that I cannot enjoy your 
company. I commend myself infinitely to your re- 
membrance, and trust God may long preserve you, 
and grant you a safe and speedy return. 

" Your very humble wife, 

" Christierna, 
" From Milan, June, 1535."^ 

But the warm-hearted young wife's wish remained 
unfulfilled, and four months after these lines were 
written Christina was a widow. 



V. 

The chief event of Christina's brief married life 
was the marriage of her elder sister, the Princess of 
Denmark. Dorothea was by this time an attractive 
girl of fourteen, shorter and slighter than her sister, 
and inferior to her in force of character, but full of 
brightness and gaiety. She was very popular in her 
old home at Malines, and often shot with a crossbow 
at the meetings of the Guild of Archers. Several 
marriages had been proposed for her, and King 
James of Scotland had repeatedly asked for her 
hand ; but the Emperor hesitated to accept his 
advances, from fear of offending King Francis, 

^ Autografi di Principi : Sforza, Archivio di Stato (see 
Appendix I.). 

8 



I02 CHRISTINA, DUCHESS OF MILAN [Bk. iv 

whose daughter Magdalen had long been pledged to 
this fickle monarch, while the difficulty of providing 
a dower and outfit for another portionless niece, made 
Mary reluctant to conclude a second marriage. But, 
a few months after Christina's marriage, a new suitor 
for Dorothea's hand came forward in the person of 
the Count Palatine, who had vainly aspired to wed 
both Eleanor of Austria and Mary of Hungary. 
Frederic's loyal support of Charles's claims to the 
imperial crown, and his gallant defence of Vienna 
against the Turks, had been scurvily rewarded, and 
hitherto all his attempts to find another bride had 
been foiled. When, in 1526, after the King of 
Portugal's death, he approached his old love, the 
widowed Queen Eleanor, his advances were coldly 
repelled ; and when he asked King Ferdinand for one 
of his daughters, he was told that she was too young 
for him. After Mary of Hungary's refusal, he left 
the Imperial Court in anger, and told Charles V. that 
he would take a French wife;^ but Isabel of Navarre, 
Margaret of Montferrat, and the King of Poland's 
daughter, all eluded his efforts, and when he asked 
for Mary Tudor's hand. King Henry told him that 
he could not insult his good friend and cousin by 
offering him a bride born out of wedlock.^ Now Ferdi- 
nand, unwilling to lose so valuable an ally, suddenly 
proposed that the Palatine should marry his niece 
Dorothea, saying that both he and Charles would 
rejoice to see him reigning over the three northern 
kingdoms. At first Frederic hesitated, saying that 
he was a grey-headed man of fifty, little fitted to be 
the husband of so young a lady, and had no wish 
to reign over the turbulent Norsemen. Mary, how- 

^ Lanz, i. 419. ^ jj Thomas, 310. 



Jan.. 1535] THE PALATINE . 103 

ever, welcomed her brother's proposal, regarding it 
as a means of strengthening the Eniperor's cause in 
Northern Europe. In Denmark the succession of 
Frederic's son Christian III. was disputed, and a 
Hanseatic fleet had seized Copenhagen, while Christo- 
pher of Oldenburg, a cousin of the captive King, 
had invaded Jutland. With the help of these allies 
it might be possible for the Palatine to recover his 
wife's inheritance. But the execution of this plan 
was full of difficulties, as Prince John's old tutor, 
the wise Archbishop of Lunden, told Charles V. in a 
letter which he addressed to him in the autumn of 
1534: 

" Most sacred C^sar, — I know Denmark well, and 
am convinced that the Danes will never recognize 
Christian II. as their King. Count Christopher's 
expedition will prove a mere flash in the pan, and 
when he can no longer pay his men, the peasants, 
who flocked to his banner at the sound of their old 
King's name, will return to their hearths. Then the 
nobles will have their revenge, and the proud Liibeck 
citizens will seize Denmark and establish the Lutheran 
religion in the name of Christopher or King Henry of 
England, or any other Prince, as long as he is not 
Your Majesty ; and if they succeed, the trade of the 
Low Countries will be ruined."^ 

The bait held out to the Palatine, however, proved 
too alluring, and he easily fell a victim to the snare. 
The Emperor sent him flattering messages by Hubert, 
the faithful servant who has left us so delightful a 
chronicle of his master's doings, and promised his 
niece a dowry of 50,000 crowns. It was late on 
New Year's Eve when Hubert reached his master's 
house at Neumarkt, on his return from Spain, and 
Frederic was already in bed ; but he sent for him, and 

^ Altmeyer, " Relations Commerciales," etc., 317; Lanz, ii. 120. 



I04 CHRISTINA, DUCHESS OF MILAN [Bk. iv 

bade him tell his news in three words. The messenger 
exclaimed joyfully: " I bring my lord a royal bride, 
a most gracious Kaiser, and a sufficient dowry." 
Upon which the Palatine thanked God, and bade 
Hubert go to the cellar and help himself to food 
and drink .^ 

One of Charles's most trusted Flemish servants, 
Nicholas de Marnol, was now sent to Milan, to obtain 
the consent of the Duke and Duchess to Dorothea's 
marriage. After a perilous journey over the Alps in 
snow and floods, Marnol reached Milan on the loth 
of January, 1535, and received a cordial welcome. 
Francesco approved warmly of a union which would 
insure the Princess's happiness and serve to confirm 
the peace of Germany, but quite declined to accept 
the Emperor's suggestion that he should help to 
provide a pension for Christina's brother-in-law, 
saying that this was impossible, and that His Majesty 
would be the first to recognize the futility of making 
promises which cannot be kept. 

After a short stay at Milan, Marnol went on to 
Vienna, and advised the Palatine to go to Spain 
himself if he wished to settle the matter. Frederic, 
always glad of an excuse for a journey, travelled by 
way of Brussels and France to Saragossa, and accom- 
panied the Emperor to Barcelona, where Charles 
signed the marriage contract on the eve of sailing for 
Africa. 

On the 1 8th of May, 1535, the marriage was 
solemnized at Brussels, and Frederic consented to 
leave his bride with her aunt until her outfit was 
completed. Queen Eleanor expressed the liveliest 
interest in her old lover's marriage, and insisted on 
^ H. Thomas, 328. 



May, 1535] A HAPPY MARRIAGE 105 

seeing Dorothea before she went to Germany. At 
length the wedding-party reached Heidelberg, on the 
8th of September, where the gallant bridegroom, 
who, in Hubert's words, " loved to shine," rode out 
in rich attire to meet his bride, and escorted her with 
martial music and pomp worthy of a King's daughter 
to the famous castle on the heights. The next day 
the nuptial Mass was celebrated by the Bishop of 
Spires, and a series of splendid entertainments were 
given by Frederic's brother, the Elector Louis, after 
which the Count took his bride to his own home at 
Neumarkt, in the Upper Palatinate.^ 

" Now at length," wrote Hubert, " my lord thought 
that he had attained a haven of rest, and found a 
blessed end to all his troubles; but he was grievously 
mistaken, and soon realized that he had embarked 
on a new and tempestuous ocean." ^ 

The splendid prospects of recovering his wife's 
kingdom were destined to prove utterly fallacious, 
and only involved him in heavy expenses and per- 
petual intrigues. The Emperor, as he soon dis- 
covered, " had no great affection for the enterprise 
of Denmark,"^ and before long Copenhagen sur- 
rendered, and Charles and Mary were compelled to 
come to terms with Christian III. and acknowledge 
his title. Fortunately, in all other respects his 
marriage proved a happy one. Dorothea was greatly 
beloved by her husband's family and subjects, and made 
him a devoted wife, although, as Hubert soon found 
out, she was as great a spendthrift as her lord, and con- 
fessed that she was never happy until she had spent 
her last penny .^ The very frivolity of her nature 

^ Henne, vi. 132. ^ H. Thomas, 350. 

3 Lanz, ii. 659. * H. Thomas, 350. 



io6 CHRISTINA, DUCHESS OF MILAN [Bk. iv 

suited the volatile Count. She shared his love of 
adventure, and was always ready to accompany him 
on perilous journeys, to climb mountains or ford 
rivers, with the same unquenchable courage and 
gaiety of heart. Even when, in her anxiety to bear 
a child, she imitated the example of Frederic's mother, 
the old Countess Palatine, and went on pilgrimages 
and wore holy girdles, " this was done without 
any spirit of devotion, but with great mirth and 
laughter. And how little," adds the chronicler, 
" either pilgrimages or girdles profited her, we all 
know."^ 

VI. 

Before the Palatine and his bride reached Heidel- 
berg, Europe was thrilled by the news of the capture 
of Tunis, and the flight of the hated Barbarossa before 
his conqueror. It was the proudest moment of the 
Emperor's life. Twenty thousand Christian captives 
were released that day, and went home to spread the 
fame of their great deliverer throughout the civilized 
world. The news reached Milan on the 2nd of 
August, and was hailed with universal joy. Te 
Deums were chanted in the Duomo, bells were rung 
in all the churches, and the guns of the Castello 
boomed in honour of the great event. Camillo Ghilino 
was immediately sent by the Duke to congratulate the 
Emperor on his victory, and thank His Majesty once 
more for all the happiness which the generous gift of 
his niece had brought Francesco and his people .^ 

The late Pope, Clement VII., had already expressed 
his intention of rewarding Ghilino 's services with a 
Cardinal's hat, and his successor, Paul III., would 

^ " Zimmer'sche Chronik," iv. 145. ^ Burigozzo, 525. 




FREDERIC, COUNT PALATINE 
Ascribed to A. Diirer (Darmstadt) 



To face />. i o5 



Nov.. 1535] FRANCESCO SFORZA'S DEATH 107 

probably have kept his promise, but the Ambassador 
fell ill in Sicily, and died at Palermo in September, 
to the Duke's great sorrow.^ Soon after receiving 
the news, Francesco himself fell ill of fever, and once 
more lost the use of his limbs. All through October 
he grew steadily worse, and by the end of the month 
the people of Milan learnt that their beloved Prince 
was at the point of death. On Monday, the Feast of 
All Saints, the public anxiety was at its height, and 
silent crowds waited all day at the gates of the Castello 
to hear the latest reports. At length, early in the 
morning of All Souls' Day, they learnt that the last 
Sforza Duke was no more. Christina watched by his 
bedside to the end, and wept bitterly, for, in the 
chronicler's words, " they had loved each other 
well. "2 All Milan shared in her grief, and nothing but 
sobbing and wailing was heard in the streets . Every- 
one lamented the good Duke, and grieved for the 
troubles and misery which his death would bring on 
the land. But the city remained tranquil, and there 
was no tumult or rioting. This was chiefly due to 
Stampa, who, by the Duke's last orders, took charge 
of the Duchess, and administered public affairs in her 
name, until instructions could be received from Caesar. 
A messenger was despatched without delay to the 
Emperor at Palermo, with letters from the Count 
and a touching little note from Christina, informing 
her uncle how her dear lord's weakness had gradually 
increased, until in the early morning he passed to a 
better life. The dead Prince lay in state for three 
days in the ducal chapel, clad in robes of crimson 
velvet and ermine, on a bier surrounded by lighted 

^ G. Ghilino, " Annali di Alessandria," 141. 
2 Potenze Sovrane, Archivio di Stato. 



io8 CHRISTINA, DUCHESS O*' MILAN [Bk. iv 

tapers. But the funeral was put off till the 19th of 
November, in order, writes the chronicler, to give 
the people time to show the love they bore their 
lamented master, and also because of the difficulty 
of obtaining sufficient black cloth to drape the walls 
of the Castello and put the Court in mourning. It 
was a sad time for the young widow. During three 
weeks not a ray of light was allowed to penetrate 
the gloom of the funereal hall where she sat with 
her ladies, while solemn requiems and Masses were 
chanted in the chapel. 

It had been Francesco's wish to sleep with his 
parents in the Church of S. Maria delle Grazie, where 
the effigies of Lodovico and his lost Beatrice had 
been carved in marble. But when this became 
known there was a general outcry. The people 
would not allow their beloved Duke to be buried 
anywhere but in the Duomo with the great Francesco 
and the other Sforza Princes. So it was decided only 
to bury the Duke's heart in the Dominican church. 
His body was laid in a leaden casket covered with 
black velvet, and a wax effigy, wearing the ducal 
crown and robes, was exposed to public view. 

Late on Friday, the 19th of November, an imposing 
funeral procession passed from the Castello to the 
Duomo, through the same streets which, only 
eighteen months before, had been decked in festive 
array to receive the late Duke's bride. First came 
the Bishops and clergy with candles and crosses, then 
the senators, magistrates, and nobles, wearing long 
black mantles and hoods. After them gentlemen 
bearing the ducal standard, cap, and baton, and 
Francesco's sword and helmet, and what moved the 
spectators more than all, the white mule which he 



Nov., 1535] FUNERAL RITES - 109 

had ridden daily, led by four pages, " looking just 
as it did when His Excellency was alive, only that the 
saddle was empty." Then the bier was carried past, 
under a gold canopy, and the wax effigy of the dead 
man, was seen clad in gold brocade and ermine, with 
a vest of crimson velvet and red shoes and stockings. 
Immediately behind rode the chief mourner, Giovanni 
Paolo Sforza, followed by Antonio de Leyva, the 
Imperial and Venetian Ambassadors, the Chancellor 
Taverna, Count Massimiliano Stampa, and the chief 
Ministers and officials. After them came a vast 
multitude of poor, all in mourning, bearing lighted 
tapers, and weeping as they went. A catafalque, sur- 
rounded with burning torches, had been erected in 
the centre of the Duomo, and here, under a canopy 
of black velvet, the Duke's effigy was laid on a couch 
of gold brocade, with his sword at his side and the 
ducal cap and baton at his feet — " a thing," says 
the chronicler, " truly marvellous to see."^ 

The next morning the funeral rites were celebrated 
in the presence of an immense concourse of people, 
and a Latin oration was delivered by Messer Gualtiero 
di Corbetta. During three days requiems were 
chanted at every altar in the Duomo, and the great 
bell, which had never been rung before, was tolled 
for the space of three hours, accompanied by all the 
bells of the other churches in Milan. " And there 
was no one with heart so hard that he was not moved 
to tears that day," writes Burigozzo, the chronicler 
who was a living witness of the love which the citizens 
bore to their dead Duke.^ At the end of the week 
the casket containing Francesco's remains was finally 
laid in a richly carved sarcophagus, which had been 
^ Burigozzo, 525 2 /ft?^.^ ^29. 



no CHRISTINA, DUCHESS OF MILAN [Bk. iv 

originally intended to receive the ashes of Gaston de 
Foix, the victor of Ravenna, and which was now 
placed against the wall of the choir, " for a perpetual 
memorial in the sight of all Milan." ^ 

No one loved the Duke better and lamented his 
loss more truly than Count Massimiliano Stampa, and 
Pietro Aretino, who realized this, condoled with his 
noble friend, and at the same time paid an eloquent 
tribute to the dead Prince, in the following letter : 

" The Duke is dead, and I feel that this sad event 
has not only taken away all your happiness, but part 
of your own soul. I know the close intimacy in 
which you lived, nourished in your infancy at the 
same breast, and bound together in one heart and 
soul. But you must take comfort, remembering that 
His Excellency may well be called fortunate m his 
end. His wanderings began when he was barely six 
years old, and he was driven into exile before he 
was old enough to remember his native land. After 
so many wars and labours, after experiencing famine 
and sickness himself, and seeing the cruel misery and 
affliction endured by his subjects, he lived to see 
perfect tranquillity restored in his dominions, and 
to enjoy the passionate affection of all Milan. Now, 
secure in the friendship of Caesar and the love of Italy, 
he has given back his spirit to God who gave it. 
Rejoice, therefore, and render praise and glory to 
Francesco Sforza's name, because by his wisdom and 
virtue he conquered fortune, and has died a Prince 
on his throne, reigning in peace and happiness over 
his native land. So, my dear lord, I beg you dry 
your tears, and meet those who love you as I do 
with a serene brow. The fame of your learning 
and greatness is known everywhere. Rise above the 
blows of fate, and console yourself with the thought 
of your Duke's blessed end. There lies His Excel- 
lency's corpse. Give it honourable burial, and I 
meanwhile will not cease to celebrate him dead and 
you who are alive. "^ 

^ M. Guazzo, 312. 2 P. Aretino, " Lettere," i. 43. 



BOOK V 

THE WIDOW OF MILAN 
1535— 1538 

I. 

Christina's short married life was over. At the end 
of eighteen months she found herself a widow, before 
she had completed her fourteenth year. But the 
brief interval which had elapsed since she left Flanders 
had sufficed to turn the child into a woman. From the 
moment of the Duke's death, her good sense and dis- 
cretion won golden opinions from the grey-headed 
statesmen around her. The senators and Ambassa- 
dors, the deputies from Pavia and the other Lombard 
cities, who came to offer their condolences, were 
deeply moved at the sight of this Princess, whose 
heavy mourning and widow's weeds contrasted 
strangely with her extreme youth. The dignity and 
grace of her bearing charmed them still more, and all 
the Milanese asked was to keep their Duchess among 
them. By the terms of the late Duke's investiture, if 
he died without children, the duchy of Milan was to 
revert to the Emperor, but the city of Tortona was 
settled on the Duchess. By Francesco's will the town 
and Castello of Vigevano, which he had done so much 
to beautify, were also bequeathed to her. Imme- 
diately after the Duke's funeral, in obedience to his 
dying lord's order, Stampa hoisted the imperial 



112 THE WIDOW OF MILAN [Bk. v 

standard on the Castello of Milan, but refused to 
allow Antonio de Leyva to take possession of the 
citadel until he received orders from Caesar himself. 
This was faithfully reported to the Emperor by 
Christina, who gave her uncle a full account of the 
steps which she had taken to administer affairs as her 
lord's representative, adding: 

" If I have failed in any part of my duty or done 
anything contrary to Your Majesty's wishes, I beg 
you to excuse my ignorance, assuring you that I 
have acted by the advice of my late husband's Coun- 
cillors, and with no regard to my own interests, but 
with the sole object of promoting Your Majesty's 
honour and service, and remain 

" Your very humble and obedient servant, 

" Chretienne. 

" November 20, 1535-"^ 

The messenger whom Stampa sent to Palermo on 
the day of the Duke's death missed the Emperor, 
who had already left for Messina, and the news did 
not reach him until he had landed in Calabria, on 
his way to Naples. It was not till the 27th of Novem- 
ber that a horseman bearing letters from Caesar 
arrived in Milan. Here intense anxiety prevailed 
among all classes, and the Spaniards were as much 
hated as the Duke and Duchess had been beloved. 
Accordingly, the relief was great when it became 
known that, although Signor Antonio de Leyva was 
appointed Governor-General, Stampa was to retain 
his post as Castellan, and the Duchess was to remain 
in the Castello. 

" The Duchess remains Duchess," wrote the chron- 
icler, " and all the other officials retain their places. 
Above all. Count Massimiliano keeps his office, and 
the city is perfectly quiet. "^ 

1 Potenze Sovrane, 1535, Archivio di Stato. ^ Burigozzo, 528. 



Dec, 1535] THE PRINCE OF PIEDMONT 113 

Stampa now made a last effort to maintain the 
independence of Milan. He proposed that the 
widowed Duchess should be given in marriage to the 
Duke of Savoy's eldest son, Louis, a Prince of her 
own age, who was being educated at his imperial 
uncle's Court. A petition to this effect, signed by 
Chancellor Taverna and all the leading senators, was 
addressed to the Emperor, and Giovanni Paolo Sforza 
was sent to Rome to meet His Majesty and obtain 
the Pope's support. 

" Gian Paolo Sforza and Taverna," wrote the 
Venetian Envoy, Lorenzo Bragadin, " have begged 
Caesar to give the hand of his niece, the widow, to 
the Duke of Savoy's son, and this is the wish of all 
the people of Milan. "^ 

Unfortunately, Giovanni Paolo fell ill on the 
journey, and breathed his last in a village of the 
Apennines, and before Charles left Naples he heard 
that the promising young Prince of Piedmont had 
died on Christmas Day at Madrid. His brother, 
Emanuel Philibert, was a child of seven, and although 
his ambitious mother, Duchess Beatrix, hastened to 
put forward his claim, nothing more was heard of 
the scheme. 

By this time another marriage for Christina was 
being seriously discussed at the Imperial Court. 
Even before the Duke's death, the French King had 
done his best to provoke a quarrel with him, and had 
begun to make active preparations for war. Hardly 
had Francesco breathed his last, than he openly 
renewed his old claim to Milan, and sent an Ambassador 
to the Emperor at Naples, demanding the duchy for 
his second son, Henry, Duke of Orleans, the husband 
* G, de Leva, " Storia Documentata di Carlo V.," etc., iii. 152. 



114 THE WIDOW OF MILAN [Bk. V 

of Catherine de' Medici. This plan, which would have 
made the French supreme in North Italy, could not 
be entertained for a moment, but Charles, in his 
anxiety to avoid war, was ready to accept almost any 
other alternative. When his sister Eleanor implored 
him to agree to her husband's proposal, and, by way 
of cementing the alliance, give " the little widow of 
Milan" in marriage to the King's third son, the Duke 
of Angouleme, he replied that he would gladly treat 
of the proposed marriage, but only on condition that 
Angouleme, not Orleans, was put in possession of 
Milan. 

The union of the French Prince with Christina 
now became the subject of prolonged negotiations 
between the two Courts. The Imperial Chancellor, 
Granvelle, drew up a long and careful memorandum, 
dwelling on the obvious advantages of the scheme, 
on the virtues and charms of the young Duchess, on 
her large dowry and great popularity in Milan, and 
Charles told Francis plainly that he would agree to 
no scheme by which the widowed Duchess was re- 
moved from the State, " where she was so much 
beloved and honoured, and where the people placed 
all their hopes of tranquillity in her presence." One 
great object of these negotiations, he wrote, "is to 
find a noble and suitable husband for our niece, the 
Widow of Milan, who is to us almost a daughter, 
and who has always shown herself so discreet and 
so obedient to our wishes."^ 

Both the Pope and the Venetians supported this 
scheme as the best means of avoiding war and pre- 
serving the independence of Milan. At the same 
time Pope Paul did not fail to put in a plea for his 
^ Granvelle, " Papiers d'Etat," ii. 407, 446, 435. 



March, 1536] MANY SUITORS II5 

own kinsman, the son of his niece Cecilia Farnese, 
and Count Bosio Sforza, a descendant of Fran- 
cesco I.'s half-brother. Bosio had been a loyal 
supporter of the late Duke, but died soon after 
Christina's marriage, leaving a son of fifteen, who 
was brought up at the Court of Milan. The Pope 
himself addressed a grateful letter to Christina, 
thanking her for the kindness which she had shown 
the boy, and throwing out a hint that a marriage 
with her young Sforza cousin might be possible. 
Another husband whom Granvelle proposed for her was 
Duke Alexander of Florence, but, fortunately, Charles 
decided to give him his own illegitimate daughter 
Margaret, and Christina thus escaped union with 
this reckless and profligate Prince, who was soon 
afterwards murdered by his kinsman.'- Meanwhile 
the Scottish Ambassadors at the French Court made 
proposals to the Emperor on behalf of their King, 
James V., who had not yet made up his mind to 
wed Magdalen of Valois, and these negotiations were 
only interrupted by the high-handed action of King 
Henry's new favourite, Thomas Cromwell. Thus, 
a few weeks after the Duke of Milan's death his 
widow's hand had become the subject of animated 
controversy in all the Courts of Europe. ^ 

But while others were negotiating the French were 
arming. On the 6th of March, the first day of 
Carnival, news reached Milan that a French army 
had crossed the Alps. The strong citadel of Mont- 
melian was betrayed by the treachery of a Neapolitan 
captain, and after a gallant defence the Duke of 

^ Granvelle, ii. 407. 

2 Calendar of Spanish State Papers, v. i, 586; Granvelle, 
ii. 417. 



ii6 THE WIDOW OF MILAN [Bk. V 

Savoy was compelled to evacuate Turin, and take 
refuge with his wife and children at Vercelli. All 
hope of peace was now over, and, in a consistory held 
in the Vatican on the 8th of April, the Emperor 
appealed to the Pope to bear witness how earnestly 
he had tried to prevent war, and how fruitless his 
efforts had proved. At Granvelle's suggestion, he 
determined to carry the war into the enemy's country, 
and, following in the steps of Charles VIII., crossed 
the Apennines, and marched by the Emilian Way and 
along the banks of the Po towards Asti. 

The dread of a French invasion had united all 
parties in Milan. The citizens forgot their hatred 
of the Spaniards in their terror of another siege, and 
cheerfully submitted to fresh taxes to pay the 
defending army. It was a late spring that year in 
Lombardy, the weather was bitterly cold, and by the 
end of April the vines had only put forth tiny shoots, 
and the roses were not yet in flower. Nothing was 
heard in the streets but the din of approaching war- 
fare, and the tramp of armed Landsknechten march- 
ing from Tyrol on their way to the frontier. But in 
the last days of April Christina's dull life was 
brightened by the sudden arrival of the Duchess of 
Savoy, who fled from the camp at Vercelli to take 
refuge in the Castello of Milan. Times were altered 
since the two Princesses had met at Turin, and the 
Duchess Beatrix, who had welcomed the little bride 
so warmly, was sadly changed in body and mind. 
She had lost her eldest son, and been driven out of 
her home by foreign invaders, never to return there 
again in her lifetime. With her she brought her two 
remaining children, the little Princess Catherine and 
Emanuel Philibert, who was one day to become 



May, 1536] MEETING WITH CHAIiLES V. 117 

famous as the bravest captain in Europe. And she 
also brought a treasure which excited the utmost 
enthusiasm among the Milanese — the Holy Shroud 
of St. Joseph of Arimathea, which had been preserved 
for centuries at Chambery. Crowds flocked to the 
Duomo when Beatrix's Franciscan confessor preached, 
in the hope of seeing the precious Shroud ; but the 
Duchess would not allow the relic to leave the Castello, 
and on the 7th it was exposed on the ramparts to 
the view of an enormous multitude assembled in the 
piazza .■'^ 

A week later Francesco Sforza's cousin, Ferrante 
Gonzaga, and the Duke of Savoy, came to Milan, but 
soon left for the camp. Beatrix then obtained per- 
mission to pay the Emperor a visit on his journey 
north, and by Charles's express request took Christina 
with her. On the i8th of May the magistrates of 
Pavia received orders from the Duchess of Milan's 
maggiordomo , Benedetto da Corte, to prepare lodgings 
for Her Excellency and the Duchess of Savoy, as 
near to each other as possible .^ The Castello of 
Pavia had suffered terribly in the siege by Lautrec 
in 1528, but a few rooms were hastily furnished, 
and on the 20th Beatrix and Christina arrived, 
escorted by Count Massimiliano and several courtiers. 
Early on the following morning the two Duchesses 
rode out to Arena on the Po, where they found the 
Emperor awaiting them. Charles was unfeignedly 
glad to see both his sister-in-law and the niece whom 
he had left as a child at Brussels four years before, 
and welcomed them affectionately.^ But the inter- 

^ Burigozzo, 532. 

2 Museo Civico di Storia Patria, Pavia, 546. 

^ L. Gachard, " Voyages des Souverains des Pays-Bas," ii. 133. 

9 



ii8 THE WIDOW OF MILAN [Bk. v 

view was a short one, and the next day he continued 
his journey to Asti, where he joined Antonio de 
Leyva and Ferrante Gonzaga, and prepared to invade 
Provence. 

Meanwhile Beatrix and Christina returned to Milan, 
and spent the summer together in the Castello. A 
close friendship sprang up between the two Duchesses. 
Beatrix took a motherly interest in her young com- 
panion, and the children's presence helped to cheer 
these anxious months. At first the Emperor's arms 
were entirely successful. The French retired before 
him to Avignon, laying the country waste, and he 
met with no opposition until he reached Aix, which 
resisted all his attacks. During the long siege which 
followed, his soldiers suffered severely from disease 
and famine, and many youths of the noblest Milanese 
families were among the victims.^ Early in Septem- 
ber, while Christina's own secretary, Belcorpo, was 
robbed and murdered on his way to the camp, 
Antonio de Leyva, the redoubtable Commander-in- 
Chief, died, and was buried in S. Eustorgio at Milan. 
The Papal Legate, Cardinal Caracciolo, a Neapolitan 
by birth, was appointed to succeed him as Viceroy 
of Milan. He had only just assumed the reins of 
office, and paid his first visit to the young Duchess, 
when he received a summons from the Emperor to 
join him at Genoa. Finding it impossible to reduce 
Aix, Charles had determined to abandon the cam- 
paign, and on the i6th of November a three months' 
truce was signed between the two monarchs. The 
Emperor was anxious to return to Spain, where his 
presence was sorely needed. But before his departure 
he sent for the Cardinal, desiring him to leave some 
^ Calendar of Spanish State Papers, v. 2, 230. 



Oct., 1536] CARDINAL CARACCIOLO 119 

trusty lieutenant to govern the State in his absence, 
and take charge of his niece the Duchess. Accord- 
ingly, Caracciolo went to Genoa on the 4th of October, 
accompanied by Beatrix of Savoy, who, after a long 
interview with the Emperor, joined her husband at 
Nice, the only city which still belonged to him. 
Soon after this her health gave way under the pro- 
longed strain, and this once brilliant and beautiful 
woman died in January, 1538, as she said herself, of 
a broken heart. 

Christina, now left alone at Milan, wrote a long 
letter to the Cardinal, whom she addressed in the 
language of a caressing child, saying that he was 
dear to her as a father, and seeking his help for two 
objects which lay very near her heart. 

" The true affection," she writes, "which Your 
Excellency has shown me, and the kind remem- 
brance of me which you always keep, makes me 
anxious for your health and welfare. So I beg 
you to tell me how you have prospered on your 
journey, and if you are well in health." 

She then begs her friend the Cardinal to use his 
influence with the Emperor on behalf of her sister 
Dorothea, " the person now nearest and dearest to 
her on earth," who is in need of her powerful uncle's 
help . Probably the Palatine was, as usual, endeavour- 
ing to recover arrears of the pension due to him by 
the Emperor, and to obtain compensation for the 
costs which he had incurred in the disastrous ex- 
pedition against Copenhagen. Hubert had lately 
been sent to Charles with this object, and had at the 
same time suggested that, if the Emperor needed a 
Viceroy for Milan, no one could be more suitable 
than his lord. But whatever the precise object of 



I20 THE WIDOW OF MILAN [Bk. v 

Dorothea's request may have been, Christina's inter- 
cession, it is to be feared, availed her little. 

The Duchess's other petition was more easily- 
granted . 

" As a whole year," she wrote, " will soon have 
elapsed since the death of my dearest husband, of 
blessed memory, I beg you to entreat His Majesty, in 
my name, to be pleased to give orders that this 
anniversary may be observed in a due and fitting 
manner. And I am quite certain that he will not 
refuse to hear this my prayer."^ 

It would indeed have been impossible for the 
Emperor to refuse so reasonable a request, and the 
anniversary of the late Duke's death was observed 
with due ceremonial in all the churches of Milan. 
But the days of the young Duchess's abode in this 
city were fast drawing to a close. Before Charles left 
Italy he had determined to place a strong Spanish 
garrison in the Castello, to defend Milan against the 
risk of a French invasion, and had only delayed to 
take this step from fear of exciting discontent in the 
city. Stampa had hitherto succeeded in warding off 
the blow, but now he was forced to bow to the 
Imperial command, and surrender the Castello to 
a foreign captain. 

Charles, it must be owned, did his best to soften 
the blow. He made the Count a present of the rich 
fief of Soncino in the province of Cremona, and sent 
him as a parting gift the costly plate which had 
belonged to the late Duke, with a cordial invitation 
to follow him to Spain. But we see, from a letter 
which Stampa's friend Aretino sent him, how sorely 
this vexed his noble heart. 

1 Autografi di Principi, Archivio di Stato (see Appendix II.). 



Dec, 1536] ARETINO'S COMFORT 121 

" I will not grieve, my illustrious friend," wrote the 
time-serving Venetian, " if you have to give up the 
Castello, which you held for love of His Excellency, 
of happy memory, because to my mind it was a 
prison for your genius. Dry your tears, and console 
yourself with the reflection that now at least you are 
a free man. His Majesty is relieved from the jealousy 
of his Spanish servants, and you are saved from 
further anxieties on this subject. Now you can, if 
you choose, follow him to Spain, and lay down your 
office with honour unstained, and then return to 
Milan to live in freedom and contentment."^ 

This was poor comfort for Massimiliano, but the 
Emperor's will was not to be gainsaid, and the Count 
could only lay down his office and take leave of the 
young Duchess, assuring her of his undying loyalty 
and faithfulness. Charles had not forgotten his niece, 
and before he sailed for Barcelona on the 15th of 
November he sent one of his oldest and most trusted 
servants, Jean de Montmorency, Sieur de Courrieres, 
the Captain of the Archers' Guard, to take charge of 
the Duchess, and eventually conduct her to Flanders. 
But while negotiations for her second marriage were 
still pending, it was felt desirable that she should 
remain in Lombardy ; and since the Castello would 
no longer be a fit place for her, Montmorency was 
ordered to escort her to Pavia. On the loth of Decem- 
ber, 1536, De Courrieres arrived with fifty archers of 
the Imperial Guard, and, after a brief consultation 
with the Cardinal and Stampa, decided to take the 
Duchess to Pavia without delay .^ 

The leaves of the trees in the gardens were turning 
yellow, and a pale wintry sun shone down on the 

^ Aretino, " Lettere," i. 45. 

2 " Correspondance de Charles V. avec J. de Montmorency, 
Seigneur de Courrieres," Papiers d'fitat de I'Audience, No. 82, 
p. 1, Archives du Royaume, Bruxelles. 



122 THE WIDOW OF MILAN [Etc. v 

Castello, which Christina had first seen in the joyous 
May- time, when a httle procession of black-robed 
ladies, with their attendants, issued from the 
Rocchetta, and mounted the horses and htters in 
waiting for them. A few bystanders saluted them 
reverently, and followed them with wistful eyes as 
they rode out of the gates, down the street leading to 
the Porta Ticinese, until they were out of sight. 

A few days later Count Massimihano Stampa 
marched out of the Castello at the head of his troops, 
and gave up the keys, which he had received from the 
last Sforza Duke, to the Spanish Captain Alvarez de 
Luna, who entered the gates amid the curses and 
groans of the citizens. Henceforth the hfe of Milan 
as an independent State was over, and the yoke of 
Spain descended on the ancient capital of Lombardy. 

II. 

The city of Pavia had always been loyal to the 
House of Sforza. In no part of the duchy was there 
greater rejoicing on the restoration of Duke Fran- 
cesco II.; nowhere was his premature death more 
deeply lamented. Several of Christina's most faithful 
servants were natives of Pavia; among others, Bene- 
detto da Corte, the master of her household, and Botti- 
gella, who had been so active in the preparations for 
her reception. Now the people of Pavia welcomed her 
coming warmly, and exerted themselves to see that 
nothing was lacking to her comfort. But the city 
and Castello had suffered terribly in the protracted 
struggle with France. The palace which had been 
the pride of the Sforza Dukes was stripped of its 
fairest treasures. The frescoes and tapestries were 



Dec, 1536] A PALACE IN RUINS 123 

destroyed, the famous library was now in the castle of 
Blois, and a great part of the walls had been thrown 
down by French guns and allowed to crumble to 
pieces. So dilapidated was the state of the building 
that it was difficult to find habitable rooms for the 
Duchess and her suite. 

On the 2 1 St of December, ten days after Christina's 
arrival, she was forced to address a request to the 
chief magistrate, Lodovico Pellizone, begging that 
her bedroom might be supplied with a wooden ceiling, 
as the room was lofty and bitterly cold in this winter 
season. Pellizone wrote without delay to the Gover- 
nor of Milan, but received no reply, and on New Year's 
Day Montmorency himself wrote to remind the 
Cardinal of the Duchess's request, urging that the 
work might be done without delay, and putting in 
a plea for a better provision of mattresses to accom- 
modate the members of her household. Still no 
redress was obtained, and at length the Captain of 
the Archers took the law into his own hands, and sent 
for carpenters to panel the Duchess's bedroom.^ 
But in spite of these drawbacks, in spite of the 
wind that whistled through the long corridors and 
the comfortless air of the empty halls, Christina's 
health and spirits were excellent. Her spirits quickly 
recovered their natural buoyancy in these new sur- 
roundings, her eyes shone with the old brightness, 
and the sound of merry laughter was once more 
heard in the spacious halls and desolate gardens. 
On the 3rd of January, only two days after Mont- 
morency addressed his fruitless remonstrance to the 
Viceroy, Christina herself wrote a letter to the same 
illustrious personage in a very different strain. She 

^ Carteggio con Montmorency, Archivio di Stato, Milan. 



124 THE WIDOW OF MILAN [Bk. v 

had, it appears, seen a very handsome white horse in 
the hostelry of the Fountain in Pavia, and was seized 
with a passionate desire to have the palfrey for her 
own use. So she wrote in the most persuasive 
language to her good Father the Cardinal, begging 
his leave to buy the horse, which she is convinced 
will suit her exactly. But, since she fears that her 
monthly allowance will not suffice to defray the cost, 
she begs His Eminence to advance the necessary sum, 
and charge it to the extraordinary expenses for which 
she is not responsible. This letter, written in her 
large round hand, was sent to Milan by one of the 
Duchess's lackeys, with the words " Cito, cito " on 
the cover, and an urgent plea for an immediate 
answer.^ The kindly old Cardinal, who had a soft 
side for the youthful Princess, could hardly refuse 
so pressing a request, and Christina probably bought 
the white horse, and had the pleasure of mounting it 
when she rode out to visit the friars of the Certosa 
or hunted in their park. 

She had another good friend and devoted servant 
in the Sieur de Courrieres — Monsignor di Corea, as he 
was called in Italy. This gallant gentleman had 
grown up in close intimacy with the Emperor from his 
boyhood. He accompanied Charles to Spain as cup- 
bearer, and was appointed Captain of the Archers' 
Guard on attaining his majority. In 1 535 he followed 
his master to Africa at the head of a chosen band of 
archers, fifty of whom remained with him as an escort 
for the Duchess. By Charles's orders, he sent constant 
reports to His Majesty from Pavia. The correspond- 
ence fills a whole volume, and is extremely interesting 

* Autografi di Principi, Archivio di Stato, Milan (see Appen- 
dix III.). 



Feb., 1537] THE EMPEROR'S SERVANT 125 

if only because it shows the familiarity with which 
the great Emperor treated his old servant, and the 
freedom which Montmorency allowed himself in ad- 
dressing his master. 

On the 15th of February, Charles wrote from 
Valladolid, thanking De Courrieres cordially for the 
services which he had rendered the Duchess, approv- 
ing highly of her residence at Pavia, and promising 
to pay for the maintenance of his archers. He 
alludes pleasantly to Montmorency's meeting with 
another of his confidential servants, Simonet, whom 
he had left at Milan. 

" Simonet was right to put off his return to 
Flanders until the worst rigours of winter were over, 
and was fortunate in meeting you, for old folks of the 
same country are very glad to meet in foreign lands, 
even if they are not natives of Brabant. Farewell, 
cher et feal, for the present, and God have you in His 
holy keeping !" 

Five weeks later he wrote again, expressing his 
satisfaction at hearing of his dear niece's health and 
happiness, and saying how entirely he trusted Mont- 
morency to provide for her comfort. 

" At the same time," he continued, " we cannot 
help feeling, both with regard to the Duchess's 
widowed condition and the troubled state of Italy, 
that she would be better with our sister, the Queen 
of Hungary, in our own country, par-deca, where 
some suitable marriage might be found for her. 
Accordingly we have written to our sister on the 
subject, and desired Cardinal Caracciolo to make all 
needful preparation for her journey. You had better 
see that she has a proper escort and all else that is 
necessary to her comfort, without making these things 
public, until we hear from our sister."^ 

^ Papiers d'Etat, 82. 2, 12, Archives du Royaume. 



126 THE WIDOW OF MILAN [Bk.v 

Mary on her part was most anxious for her niece's 
return, and lost no time in letting Charles know how 
impatiently she expected her. But, with character- 
istic dilatoriness, the Imperial Council, which met at 
Monzone on the 2nd of June, pronounced that it was 
highly expedient for the Widow of Milan to go to 
Flanders, but that the Queen's wishes must first of 
all be consulted.^ Meanwhile Count Massimiliano 
Stampa returned from Spain with instructions from 
the Emperor to make arrangements for the Duchess's 
journey with the Cardinal and Montmorency, and 
Charles wrote again to beg the Captain to start with- 
out delay. But this, as Montmorency replied, was 
not so easy. Three months' pay was due to his men, 
and in his penniless condition it was hard to provide 
them with food or their horses with fodder. 

" I will do my utmost, Sire," he wrote on the 15th 
of June, " but some things are impossible. As I told 
you when you left me at Genoa, six months' wages 
were due to me, and I can only beg you to have pity 
on your poor Captain ; for we are in sore straits, and 
you alone can help us, for, as the Scripture saith, 
Tua est potentia.'' 

At the same time, like the brave soldier that he 
was, the writer cannot refrain from expressing his 
joy at the good news of the capture of S. Pol, which 
had just arrived from Flanders. 

" Sire, I hear grand news from S. Pol, and am sure, 
when you return to your Low Countries , you will find 
that the Queen has been very vigilant in charge of 
your affairs, and will be welcomed by very humble 
and loyal subjects. But you will have something to 
say to the citizens of Ghent, for I fear those gentlemen 
are not as wise as they might be. Sire, I hear that, 
after the surrender of Hesdin, your sister the Queen 

^ Calendar of Spanish State Papers, v. 2, 353. 



Aug., 1537] CAPTAIN OF THE ARCHERS 127 

of France came to the camp in rich attire, with a 
number of ladies all in white. Such insolence cannot 
last long, as S. Pol — both the town and the Apostle — 
bear witness. I hear that Madame the new Duchesse 
d'Etampes was nowhere. Stc transit gloria mundi. 
All this Latin is to show Your Majesty that I have not 
wasted my time in Pavia, any more than Don Beltrami 
did at Louvain. Once more I beg you to have pity 
on La Chretiennete, who needs your help more than 
ever." 

But the summer months went by, and still no orders 
and no money came from Spain. Pavia became 
unhealthy, and the Duchess and all the members of 
her household fell ill of fever. 

" Hardly one has escaped," wrote Montmorency 
on the 22nd of August, " but now, thank God, my 
Lady has recovered, and I am trying to raise money 
to carry out your orders, although I fear my purse is 
not long enough to feed my poor archers."^ 

A month later the Captain went to Milan to expedite 
matters, but as yet could hear nothing from Spain, 
and on his return to Pavia early in October, he ad- 
dressed long remonstrances both to Charles and 
Granvelle. 

" Sire," wrote the irate Captain, " I have been 
ordered to take my Lady Duchess to Flanders, but 
not a word has been said as to the route that I am to 
take. Since it is your pleasure, it shall be done ; but 
if any harm comes to her in Germany, seeing the poor 
escort we shall have, who will be to blame ? My 
fear is that, as we pass through the duchy of Wiirtem- 
berg, the Duke's son may fall upon us with his 
Landsknechten , and my Lady would certainly not 
be a bad match for him ! Your Majesty has not 
given me a single letter or warrant for the journey, 
and has not written me a word. And when I get 
par-deca, I know not what I am to do or say. My 

^ Papiers d'Etat, 82, 8-10. 



128 THE WIDOW OF MILAN [Bk. v 

Lady, too, is much surprised not to have received a 
letter from Your Majesty before her departure, but 
of this, of course, I have no right to speak." 

In a postscript he adds that he has raised 500 gold 
crowns, and given each of his men 10 crowns to buy 
new saddles, as they hope to start on the 15th of 
October. He ends by humbly reminding His Majesty 
that he is growing old, and is almost fifty, and that 
if he does not soon take a wife it will be too late. 

" All this coming and going ages a man, and before 
long I shall be as wrinkled as the rest. So when I 
reach the Queen, I hope some little token of honour 
may be given me, that men may see Your Majesty 
has not wholly forgotten me. And you will, I hope, 
tell me what I am to do when I have taken Her 
Excellency to Flanders, as I have written to Granvelle 
repeatedly, and had no answer, but suppose he is busy 
with great affairs. And I pray that all prosperity may 
attend Your Majesty, and that this year, which has 
begun so well, may end by seeing you back in 
Piedmont."! 

On the 14th of October Christina herself wrote to 
inform the Emperor of her intended departure, and 
of the good order of her affairs, thanks to the Cardinal 
and Seigneur de Courrieres. " We hope to start to- 
morrow, and travel by way of Mantua and Trent, and 
through Germany, taking whichever seems to be the 
shortest and safest route." There had, it appears, 
been much discussion over the revenues assigned 
to the Duchess as her dower, and in the end she 
was deprived of the town and Castello of Vigevano, 
which the Duke had left her by his will. But by the 
terms of her marriage contract she remained absolute 
mistress of the city of Tortona, and informed the 
Emperor that, acting on the advice of the Cardinal, as 

^ Papiers d'Etat, 82, 12. 



Oct., 1537] CHRISTINA'S DEPARTURE 129 

Lady of Tortona, she had appointed a certain Gabriele 
Panigarola to be Governor of the town, and begged his 
approval. At the same time she sent her uncle a 
memorial, drawn up by Montmorency, explaining 
that, since she had not received the arrears of her 
dowry, she was not able to pay her servants, and 
had been forced to contract many debts at Pavia, 
and to spend money on the repair of the rooms which 
she occupied in the Castello. 

Many last requests were addressed to the Duchess 
by the poor and needy whom she had befriended, and 
from her own servants, who with one voice begged to 
be allowed to follow her to Flanders. One of the 
most pressing came from an old Milanese couple, 
whose son, Niccolo Belloni, was Christina's secretary, 
and at their earnest prayer she decided to allow the 
young man to remain in her service as one of the four 
Italians who accompanied her to Flanders by the 
Emperor's orders. And the last letter which the 
Duchess wrote to the Cardinal, on the eve of her 
departure, was to plead for a community of noble 
ladies in Pavia who were reduced to dire poverty owing 
to the late wars, and begged humbly for a remission 
of taxes .^ During the ten months which she had spent 
at Pavia the young Duchess had made herself beloved 
by all classes of people, and her departure was lamented 
by the whole city. 

III. 

On the 15 th of October Christina and her suite left 
Pavia, and started on their long-deferred journey to 
Flanders. When she first set foot in Italy as a bride, 
three and a half years before, the Lombard plains 

^ Autograft di Principi, Archivio di Stato, Milan. 



I30 THE WIDOW OF MILAN [Bk. v 

were in the first flush of spring, roses and myrtles 
were breaking into bloom, and the flowers sprang up 
under her feet. Now the autumn rains fell in such 
torrents that Cardinal Caracciolo was seriously 
alarmed, and wrote to Benedetto da Corte and 
Monsignore di Corea, asking if it might not be well 
to delay their departure. The first idea had been to 
go from Pavia to Cremona in a single day, but the bad 
roads and swollen rivers increased the difficulties of 
travel, and the Cardinal wrote to implore Messer 
Benedetto and Corea not to undertake such long 
journeys, lest the Duchess should be overtired. So 
the party only rode as far as Codogno, the castle of 
Count Gaspare Trivulzio, where he and his beautiful 
wife, Deianira, received them joyfully, and entertained 
them " as magnificently as if they had been invited 
to a wedding." Christina's lady-in-waiting, the 
Princess of Macedonia, rejoiced to be under her 
daughter's roof, and Benedetto da Corte wrote to 
tell the Cardinal that nothing could exceed the 
splendour and hospitahty of Count Gaspare's recep- 
tion. On the 1 8th the travellers rode along the 
plains flooded by the swollen Po till they reached 
Cremona, the dower city of Bianca Visconti, where 
she had been married to the great Condottiere Fran- 
cesco Sforza, and which had clung with unswerving 
loyalty to the fortunes of his house. Here the 
Castellan came out to meet the Duchess, at the head 
of the chief citizens, and escorted her to the Castello 
under the shadow of the famous Torrazza, where she 
and all her suite found the best of cheer. The next 
morning the travellers resumed their way, and crossed 
the rushing Oglio, under the castle of the Gonzagas of 
Bozzolo, and rode along the green meadows by 



Oct, 1537] " EN VOYAGE " , 131 

Castiglione's country home, where his aged mother 
was still living. The great courtier's name was 
familiar to all Charles V.'s servants, and Montmorency, 
who had known him in Spain, may have paused to 
look at the fair sepulchral chapel which Giulio 
Romano had lately reared in the pilgrimage church 
of S. Maria delle Grazie. At Mantua another splendid 
welcome awaited Christina. The Gonzaga Princes 
never forgot their close relationship to the Sforzas, 
and while the reigning Duchess welcomed the Princess 
of Macedonia as a kinswoman, the old Marchesana, 
Isabella, rejoiced to embrace her nephew's wife, and 
looked with affection on this youthful Duchess who 
bore the same title as her long-lost Beatrice. 

The next morning Benedetto da Corte sent the Car- 
dinal a glowing account of their journey, which, in 
spite of the weather, had been one triumphal progress : 

" Reverendissimo, 

"Her Excellency arrived safely here at Mantua 
yesterday with all her company, horses, and carriages, 
and was received most royally, as has, indeed, been 
the case in every place where we have halted on our 
way. Her whole household has been entertained 
with the best fare, and with little damage to our 
purses. . . . The kindness with which we have been 
received has made these perpetual rains tolerable. 
We are quite accustomed to them, and shall not be 
afraid of the next tempest ! We are resting here on 
this sixth day of our journey at the entreaty of these 
illustrious Princes. On Sunday, please God, we shall 
reach Verona, and I have sent to ask the Governor 
to prepare convenient lodgings for Her Excellency. 
His Reverence the Cardinal of Trent has sent a 
messenger here to-night to inquire how many we 
number, and so we go on gaily frOm stage to stage. 
Once we have reached Trent, we shall seem to be in 
sight of the Rhine, and can pursue our way at less 
peril to our lives, and, let us hope, to the greater 



132 THE WIDOW OF MILAN [Bk. v 

advantage of His Majesty's service. I kiss Your 
Reverence's hand, and so also does , Monsignore di 
Corea. 

" Benedetto da Corte. 
"Mantova, October 20." ^ 

The Cardinal's worst anxieties were relieved by 
the receipt of Benedetto's letter, and he sent a reply 
to the Castle of Trent thanking him and Monsignore 
di Corea for their trouble, and expressing great 
satisfaction to hear of their prosperous journey. The 
travellers now turned their steps northwards, and, 
after spending a night in the city of the Scaligeri, 
followed the Adige through the rocky defile known as 
La Chiusa di Verona. As they passed through the 
fortified gates at the farther end of the ravine, a 
salute from the guns made them aware that they had 
entered Austrian territory. A few miles farther they 
were met by the Cardinal-Bishop, Bernhard von Cles, 
who had ridden out with a great train to welcome 
the Duchess. A strong Imperialist no less than 
an active reformer, Bernhard von Cles had been 
raised to the cardinalate at Charles's coronation, and 
was now Vice-Chancellor of the Empire .^ He had 
lately received a visit from Christina's uncle. King 
Ferdinand, and his wife, Anna, who honoured his 
niece's wedding with their presence, and the sump- 
tuous rooms which they had occupied were now 
placed at Christina's disposal. " Nothing was lack- 
ing," wrote Benedetto da Corte, " which could please 
the eye or delight the mind." The splendour of the 
episcopal palace and the open-handed liberality of 
the Cardinal made a great impression on Mont- 

^ " Carteggio con Montmorency, Conte di Corea," 1537-38, 
Archivio di Stato, Milan. 

2 L. Pastor, " Geschichte d. Papste," iv. 375; M. Guazzo, 371. 



Oct., 1537] THE CARDINAL OF TRENT 133 

morency, who wrote himself to tell the Cardinal how 
well Madama had borne the journey. 

" I cannot tell you," he adds, " how splendidly 
Monsignor Reverendissimo has received the Duchess, 
and how sumptuously he has feasted us. Here we 
mean to rest all to-day, and to-morrow we will pursue 
our journey with the utmost diligence." 

But so pressing was the Cardinal, and so luxurious 
were the quarters provided for them, that the 
travellers remained at Trent several days, and only 
resumed their journey on the 27th of October. 

The most arduous part of the way now lay before 
them, and Benedetto describes how they harnessed 
the mules to the chariot in order that the Duchess 
and her ladies might drive across the Brenner Pass, 
at least as far as Innsbruck. Montmorency was in 
some doubt as to the route which the Duchess had 
better take through Germany, but, much to his 
satisfaction, he found the long-expected letter from 
the Emperor awaiting him at Innsbruck. It was 
written from Monzone on the last day of October, a 
fortnight after Christina had left Pavia. Charles put 
the blame of his delay on the Queen of Hungary's 
shoulders, and, since it was too late to wait for her 
directions, bade him consult the Cardinal of Trent 
as to their future journey. 

" If you have already left Trent, you had better go 
on either by road or else by the Rhine. If you are at 
Innsbruck, you can take advice from the King our 
brother or from Dr. Matthias Held " — one of Ferdi- 
nand's most trusted German Councillors — " and choose 
whichever route they consider the safest. If you have 
received no letters from the Queen, you had better 
send a messenger to Flanders, and we will inform you 
as soon as we know her pleasure regarding our niece's 
future plans." 



134 THE WIDOW OF MILAN [Bk. V 

In conclusion the Emperor tells Montmorency that 
he is sending the letters patent for which he asked, 
although they are hardly necessary, and has already 
told the Queen to refund all the expenses which he 
has incurred, and to be mindful of his great and long 
services } 

The travellers spent some time at Innsbruck in 
the ancient castle which is still adorned with the 
Sforza arms, and Christina saw the superb monument 
erected by her great-grandfather Maximilian in the 
church hard by. Ferdinand and his wife and daughters 
were in Vienna, but the route which Montmorency 
chose was that followed by most travellers, along the 
Lake of Constance and down the Rhine to Spires. 
From the first Christina had been very anxious to visit 
her sister Dorothea on her journey north, and she 
succeeded in obtaining her uncle's consent to this 
arrangement. The two Princesses had not met since 
Christina left Brussels in the spring of 1534, and 
Dorothea was no less impatient to see her sister. 
Even before the travellers reached Trent, they met 
two Genoese merchants, who told Montmorency that 
on their way through Germany they had seen the 
Count Palatine Frederic and Madama la Principessa, 
his wife, with a great company, on their way to 
Heidelberg to await the Duchess's coming. When, 
in November, the travellers at length reached Heidel- 
berg, they found themselves impatiently expected, 
and Christina received the warmest welcome from the 
Elector Palatine and his family. 

Festivities such as Frederic and Dorothea took 
delight in — jousting, banquets, and dances — followed 
each other in rapid succession, and the castle blazed 

^ Papiers d'j&tat, 82, 13, Archives du Royaume, Bruxelles. 



I 



Dec, 1537] AT HOME AGAIN, 135 

with innumerable torches through the winter nights. 
It was a great change from the funereal blackness of 
the Castello of Milan and the desolate halls of Pavia, 
and the young Duchess enjoyed it to the full. The 
days sped by all too quickly, and so happy were the 
sisters in each other's company that the Elector 
invited Christina to stay over Christmas. The young 
Duchess accepted the proposal gleefully, and all were 
preparing to spend a joyous festival, when Mont- 
morency received peremptory orders from the Queen- 
Regent to bring her niece forthwith to Flanders, 
After this no delays were possible. The sisters parted 
sadly from each other, and the travellers once more 
took boat and sailed down the Rhine to Cologne. 

From here it was an easy journey to Aix-la- 
Chapelle, and through the friendly State of Cleves to 
Maestricht, and thence to Louvain and Brussels. On 
the 8th of December Christina set foot once more 
in the ancient palace of the Dukes of Brabant, and 
was clasped in her aunt's arms. Ten days afterwards 
she wrote a letter to inform the Emperor of her safe 
arrival, and of " the good and loving welcome " which 
she had received from " Madame my aunt." She 
begged His Majesty to keep her still in his remem- 
brance, and signed herself, " Your humble niece, 
Chretienne." ^ 

She was at home once more among her own people, 
and all the strange sights and scenes, all the wonderful 
experiences which she had known, in these four event- 
ful years, seemed to fade away like a dream. But 
she had left Flanders a child, and she came back a 
woman. 

^ Papiers d']£tat, 82, 19 ; State Papers, Record 0£&ce, 
viii. 6; Calendar of State Papers, xii. 2, 415, 419. 



136 THE WIDOW OF MILAN [Bec. v 

IV, 

Christina's return was impatiently awaited at 
Brussels, The courtiers who remembered her mother, 
and had known her as a child, were eager to see 
the young Duchess, whose courage and wisdom 
had been shown in such trying circumstances. All 
through the summer her coming had been expected, 
and the Regent was seriously annoyed at the pro- 
longed delays which had hindered her niece's depar- 
ture from Milan. Her heart yearned over the child 
from whom she had parted with so much reluc- 
tance. More than this, she had in her mind's eye a 
second husband ready for the young Duchess. This 
was William, the only son and heir of the reigning 
Duke of Cleves. A handsome and well-educated 
young man of twenty- two, the young Duke had not yet 
developed that fatal weakness of purpose which 
proved his bane, and was to all appearances an ex- 
cellent match for the Emperor's niece. The political 
advantages of the union were obvious. Duke John had 
married the heiress of Jiilich and Bergh, and reigned 
over three rich and peaceful provinces on the Lower 
Rhine. He had always been on friendly terms with the 
Emperor, and when, a few months after the Duke of 
Milan's death, he asked for the young widow's hand on 
behalf of his son, Mary welcomed these advances gladly, 
and hastened to communicate them to the Emperor.^ 
At first Charles replied coolly that, if the marriage 
with Angouleme could not be arranged, the proposals 
made by the King of Scotland or Cleves might be 
entertained . In October, 1536, Mary sent a confidential 
messenger, La Tiloye, to Genoa to learn the Emperor's 
^ Lanz, ii. 657. 



Sept., 1537] THE CLEVES MARRIAGE 137 

pleasure in the matter, but nothing further was done. 
After the fresh outbreak of war in 1537, and the 
invasion of Artois by the French, Charles became 
more alive to the importance of the question, and 
wrote to his sister from Spain, saying that he had 
ordered the Widow of Milan to go to the Low Countries, 
and hoped she would proceed at once to the con- 
clusion of the marriage with Cleves.^ 

At that moment all Mary's energies were absorbed 
in the struggle with France. She herself went to 
Lille to superintend military operations, and ap- 
peared on horseback in the trenches before Therou- 
enne, where her courage excited the admiration of 
John Hutton, the English Ambassador. " Let the 
King but tarry fifteen days," she exclaimed, " and 
I will show him what God may strengthen a woman 
to do !" But, in spite of these brave words, Mary, 
as Hutton soon discovered, was sincerely desirous 
to end the war. " The Queen's anxiety for peace, 
he wrote home, " is as great as her ardour in war."^ 
She knew the straits to which the Emperor was 
reduced and the exhaustion of the Treasury. " The 
poverty of this country is so great," she wrote to 
Charles on the 9th of June, " that it is impossible to 
provide necessary funds for the war. We must have 
peace, or we are lost." ^ Under these circumstances she 
lent awilling ear to her sister Queen Eleanor's advances, 
and the two sisters had the satisfaction of arranging a 
truce at Bomy, a village near Therouenne. The siege 
of this city was raised, the French evacuated the towns 
which they held, and on the loth of September peace 
was ratified by the Emperor at Monzone. 

^ Lanz, iii. 667, 677. 

" State Papers, Record Office, vii. 695. ^ Lanz, ii. 675. 



138 THE WIDOW OF MILAN [Bk. v 

Mary felt that she could once more breathe freely. 
She lost no time in renewing negotiations with the 
Duke of Cleves, and the proposed marriage became 
the talk of the Court. " The Queen," wrote Hutton, 
on the 2nd of September, from Bruges, where Mary 
was hunting after her wont and spending all day in 
the saddle, " looketh daily for the Duchess of Milan, 
who shall be married to the Duke of Cleves's son and 
heir." ^ A month later the Cleves Envoys arrived at 
Brussels, and, after repeated interviews with the 
Queen and her Council, returned, well satisfied, to 
obtain their master's consent to the terms of the con- 
tract. The news spread rapidly, and was reported 
by Ambassadors from Spain and Germany, from Rome 
and Paris, with the same unanimity. Suddenly an 
unexpected event altered the face of affairs. Charles 
of Egmont, the fiery old Duke of Guelders, who had 
for many years been the Emperor's bitter enemy, fell 
ill, and, feeling his end to be near, summoned the 
Estates of his realm to choose a successor. Since he 
had no issue, his own wish was to leave his States 
to the French King ; but his subjects positively re- 
fused to be handed over to a foreign Power, and chose 
the young Duke William of Cleves, who hastened to 
visit Nimeguen, where hev/as acclaimed by his future 
subjects. This was a clear breach of faith, since, by 
the treaty concluded a year before with the Emperor, 
Guelders was to pass into his hands at Charles of 
Egmont 's death, and the ancient rights to the duchy 
which the House of Cleves formerly claimed had 
been already sold to the Dukes of Burgundy.^ Mary's 
indignation was great. She wrote angrily to tell 

^ Calendar of State Papers, Henry VIII., xii. 2, 231. 
2 Henne, vii. 263, 267. 



Jan.. 1538] THE SUCCESSION OF GUELDERS 139 

William of Cleves that Guelders was the property of 
the Emperor, and that if he persevered in his pre- 
tensions all idea of his marriage to her niece must be 
abandoned. The young Duke returned a courteous 
answer, saying that nothing could be farther from 
his thoughts than a breach of loyalty to the Emperor, 
and professing the utmost anxiety for the marriage. 
At the same time the old Duke's action excited 
great annoyance in Lorraine, where his nephew, the 
reigning Duke Anthony, claimed to be heir to Guel- 
ders, through his mother, Philippa of Egmont. An 
attempt to pacify him by reviving a former marriage 
contract between his son Francis and the Duke of 
Cleves 's daughter Anne met with no encouragement, 
and Ambassadors were sent to Guelders to enter a 
protest on the Duke of Lorraine's behalf.^ But 
Charles of Egmont turned a deaf ear to all remon- 
strances, and on the 27th of January, 1538, William 
of Cleves received the homage of the States of Guelders, 
and was publicly recognized as the old Duke's successor. 
Such was the state of affairs when Christina reached 
Brussels on the 8th of December, 1537. Her faithful 
guardian, Montmorency, alludes to the Cleves mar- 
riage in the following letter, which he addressed to 
Cardinal Caracciolo on the 5th of January, 1538: 

" I wrote last from Trent on the 26th of October, 
and since then have received several letters from you, 
and have duly informed the Duchess of their contents. 
She is very grateful for your kindness regarding her 
affairs, and begs you not to relax your efforts. . . . 
As to Madama's marriage with Cleves, as far as I can 
learn, it will not take place, because the Duke has 
quarrelled with Lorraine, and Guelders is interfering. 
Negotiations, however, are not yet broken off.'- 

1 Calendar of State Papers, Henry VIII., xiii. i, i^. 



I40 THE WIDOW OF MILAN [Bk. v 

Three months later he referred to the matter again 
in another letter, and this time expressed his convic- 
tion that the marriage would never take place. ^ 

Montmorency's own claims had not been forgotten. 
Soon after his return he married a lady of the Lannoy 
family, and was appointed Bailiff of Alost. Both 
Charles and Mary treated him with marked favour, 
and employed him on important diplomatic missions. 
But he still held an honorary post in the Duchess's 
household, and never ceased to be her devoted 
servant. 

During the winter Hutton alluded repeatedly to 
the aifair of Cleves in his letters to Cromwell, saying 
that the Duke had been recognized by the Communes 
of Guelders as their liege lord, and that the Queen 
quite refused to let him wed the Duchess, although 
he was still eager for the alliance. All sorts of wild 
rumours were flying about, and an Italian merchant 
at Antwerp wrote to London that young Cleves was 
about to marry the daughter of Lorraine, with 
Guelders as her dowry. But on the 25th of January 
Hutton reported that the Queen had sent Nassau and 
De Praet to Duke William, to break off marriage 
negotiations and clear her of all former promises .^ 

Christina herself was the person least concerned in 
these rumours. Princes and Ministers might wrangle 
as they chose ; they could not destroy the happiness of 
being in her old home, surrounded by familiar faces. 
The sound of the French tongue and the carillon 
in the towers were music in her ears. Three things 
above all impressed Italian travellers, like Guicciar- 
dini and Beatis, who came to the Low Countries for 

^ Carteggio Diplomatico, 1537-38, Archivio di Stato, Milan. 
2 State Papers, xiii. i, 8 ; Record Office, viii. 27, 29. 



Jan., 1538] THE PALACE OF BRABANT 141 

the first time — the cleanHness of the streets and 
houses, the green pastures with their herds of black 
and white cows, and the beautiful church bells. These 
were all delightful to the young Duchess, who had been 
so long absent from her old home. The city of Brussels, 
with its fine houses and noble churches, its famous 
hotel-de-ville, and 350 fountains, was a pleasant town 
to live in. And the Palace of Brabant itself was a 
wonderful place. There was the great hall, with its lofty 
pointed arches, and priceless Burgundian tapestries, 
and the golden suns and silver moons recently brought 
back from the New World by Cortes, the conqueror 
of Mexico. 

The Queen gave Christina a suite of rooms close to 
her own, looking out on the glossy leaves and inter- 
woven boughs of the labyrinth, and the gardens be- 
yond, which Albert Diirer had called an earthly 
paradise, and which the Cardinal of Aragon's secre- 
tary pronounced to be as beautiful as any in Italy .^ 
Here the young Duchess lived with her ladies and 
household, presided over by Benedetto da Corte and 
Niccolo Belloni. Every morning she attended Mass 
in the Court chapel, and dined and spent the even- 
ings with the Queen. On fine days, when Mary 
could spare time from public affairs, they rode out 
together and hunted the deer in the park, or took longer 
expeditions in the Forest of Soignies. As fearless and 
almost as untiring a rider as her aunt, Christina was 
quite at home in the saddle, and followed the Queen's 
example of riding with her foot in the stirrup, an 
accomplishment which was new in those days, and 
excited Brantome's admiration.- 

^ L. Pastor, " Reise des Kardinal Luigi d'Aragona," ii6. 
L. Guicciardini, "Paesi-Bassi," 74. 2 "CEuvres," xii. 107. 



142 THE WIDOW OF MILAN [Bk. V 

The following Christmas was celebrated with great 
festivity at Brussels. The war was over, and the 
presence of a youthful Princess gave new charm to 
Court functions. Wherever Christina went she made 
herself beloved. Her quick wit and frank enjoyment 
of simple pleasures charmed everyone. Although in 
public she still wore heavy mourning robes after the 
Italian fashion, and hid away her bright chestnut 
locks under a black hood, in the evening, by her 
aunt's desire, she laid aside her weeds, and appeared 
clad in rich brocades and glittering jewels. Then she 
conversed freely with her aunt's ladies and with the 
foreign Ambassadors, or played cards with the few 
great nobles who were admitted to the Queen's 
private circle — Henry, Count of Nassau, the proudest 
and richest lord in Flanders; the Duke of Aerschot 
and his wife, Anne de Croy, the heiress of the Princes 
of Chimay; his sister, Madame de Berghen; Count 
Buren ; and a few others . 

Among them was one whom the young Duchess 
regarded with especial interest. This was the hero 
of S. Pol, Rene, Prince of Orange. The only son and 
heir of the great House of Nassau, Rene had inherited 
the principality of Orange, in the South of France, 
from his uncle Philibert of Chalons, the Imperialist 
leader who fell at the siege of Florence, and whose 
sister Claude was Henry of Nassau's first wife. As 
a child Rene had been Prince John of Denmark's 
favourite playmate, and Christina had not forgotten 
her brother's old friend. Now he had grown up a 
handsome and chivalrous Prince, skilled in all knightly 
exercises. He had won his first laurels in the recent 
campaign, and was the foremost of the valiant band 
which surprised the citadel of S. Pol. The Queen 



Feb.. 1538] A PERFECT KNIGHT 143 

honoured him with her especial favour, and, as the 
Nassau house stood close to the palace, the young 
Prince was often in her company. When, on Shrove 
Sunday, a grand tournament was held at Court, one 
troop, clad in blue, was led by Count Biiren's eldest 
son, Floris d'Egmont; and the other by Rene, wearing 
the orange colours of his house, with the proud motto, 
Je maintiendrai . Christina looked down from her 
place at the Queen's side on the lists where the 
gallant Prince challenged all comers, and it was from 
her hand that the victor received the prize. Neither 
of them ever forgot that carnival.^ 

'^ State Papers, Henry VIII., Record Office, viii. i6. 



BOOK VI 

THE COURTSHIP OF HENRY VIII. 
1537— 1539 

I. 

The Widow of Milan's fate still hung in the balance. 
While Mary of Hungary had not yet lost all hope of 
marrying her to the Duke of Cleves, and Queen 
Eleanor was no less anxious to see her the wife of a 
French Prince, fresh proposals reached Brussels from 
an unexpected quarter. This new suitor was none 
other than the Emperor's bel oncle, King Henry of Eng- 
land, This monarch, who had openly defied the laws 
of the Church, and after divorcing Charles's aunt, had 
pronounced Queen Katherine's daughter to be illegiti- 
mate, could hardly expect to find favour in the eyes of 
the Regent. Mary's own opinion of Henry's character 
is frankly given in a very interesting letter which she 
wrote to her brother Ferdinand in May, 1 536, when the 
King of England had sent Anne Boleyn to the block 
and made Jane Seymour his third wife. 

" I hope," she wrote, " that the English will not 
do us much harm now we are rid of the King's mis- 
tress, who was a good Frenchwoman, and whom, as 
you have no doubt heard, he has beheaded; and since 
no one skilful enough to do the deed could be found 
among his own subjects, he sent for the executioner 
of S. Omer, in order that a Frenchman should be 

144 



May, 1536] HENRY VIII. AND HIS WIVES 14S 

the minister of his vengeance. I hear that he has 
married another lady, who is said to be a good Im- 
periahst, although I do not know if she will remain 
so much longer. He is said to have taken a fancy 
to her before the last one's death, which, coupled 
with the fact that neither the poor woman nor any 
of those who were beheaded with her, saving one 
miserable musician, could be brought to acknowledge 
her guilt, naturally makes people suspect that he 
invented this pretext in order to get rid of her. . . . 
It is to be hoped — if one can hope anything from such 
a man — that when he is tired of this wife he will 
find some better way of getting rid of her. Women, 
I think, would hardly be pleased if such customs 
became general, and with good reason; and although 
I have no wish to expose myself to similar risks, yet, 
as I belong to the feminine sex, I, too, will pray that 
God may preserve us from such perils."^ 

But whatever Mary's private opinions were, political 
reasons compelled her to preserve a friendly de- 
meanour towards King Henry. The English alliance 
was of the utmost importance to the trade of the 
Netherlands, and the eVimity of France made it essen- 
tial to secure Henry's neutrality, if not his active 
help. The death of Queen Katherine, as Cromwell 
wrote, had removed " the onelie matter of unkind- 
ness " between the two monarchs, and was soon fol- 
lowed by more friendly communications. When the 
news of Prince Edward's birth reached Spain, the 
Emperor held a long conversation with Sir Thomas 
Wyatt, the poet and scholar, who had been sent to 
the Imperial Court early in 1537. He expressed 
great pleasure at the news, laughing and talking 
pleasantly, inquiring after the size and goodliness of 
the child, and ended by saying frankly that he 
approved of the King's recent marriage as much as 

^ Papiers d'Etat, 11 78, Archives du Royaume, Bruxelles. 



146 THE COURTSHIP OF HENRY VHI. [Bk. vi 

he had always disliked his union with Anne Boleyn.^ 
These last remarks must have fallen strangely on the 
ears of Wyatt, whose old intimacy with the hapless 
Queen had nearly cost him his life, and whose death 
he lamented in some of his sweetest verse. But he 
was too good a courtier not to repeat them in his letters 
to Cromwell and the King. The news of the Prince's 
birth was shortly followed by that of the Queen's 
death, which took place at Hampton Court on the 
24th of October. 

" Divine Providence," said the royal widower, 
" has mingled my joy for the son which it has pleased 
God to give me with the bitterness of the death of 
her who brought me this happiness." 

Cromwell wrote to inform Lord William Howard, 
the special Envoy who had taken the news of the 
Prince's birth to France, of Her Grace's death, and 
in the same letter desired him to bring back par- 
ticulars of two French ladies who had been recom- 
mended as suitable successors to the late Queen, 
since His Majesty, " moved by tender zeal for his 
subjects," had already resolved to marry again. One 
of these was King Francis's plain but accomplished 
daughter Margaret, who eventually married the Duke 
of Savoy, although Cromwell, knowing his master's 
tastes, remarked that, from what he heard, he 
" did not think she would be the meetest."^ The 
other was Mary, Duchess of Longueville, the eldest 
daughter of Claude de Guise, brother of the Duke of 
Lorraine. The charms of this young widow were 
renowned at the French Court, and the English 
Ambassador's reports of her modesty and beauty 

^ Calendar of State Papers, xii. 2, 367. 

2 State Papers, Henry VIII., Record Ofi&ce, viii. 2. 



Dec, 1537] MARIE DE GUISE 147 

inspired Henry with an ardent wish to make her his 
wife. Even before Jane Seymour was in her grave, 
he attacked the French Ambassador, Castillon, on the 
subject, and suggested that both these Princesses, 
and any other ladies whom the King of France could 
recommend, might be sent to meet him at Calais.^ 

Francis, who was more gallant in his relations with 
women than his brother of England, laughed long and 
loudly when this message reached him, and sent 
Castillon word that royal Princesses could not be 
trotted out like hackney horses for hire ! He quite 
declined to allow his daughter to enter the lists; and 
as for Madame de Longueville, whom the King was 
pleased to honour with his suit, she was already 
promised to his son-in-law, the King of Scots. This 
fickle monarch, who had courted Dorothea and Chris- 
tina by turn, and finally married Madeleine de Valois, 
had lost his young wife at the end of six months, 
and was already in search of another. At the same 
time Francis sent his royal brother word that he 
should count it a great honour if he could find a 
bride in his realm, and that any other lady in France 
was at his command .^ But Henry was not accus- 
tomed to have his wishes thwarted, and in December, 
1537, he sent a gentleman of his chamber. Sir Peter 
Mewtas, on a secret mission to Joinville, the Duke 
of Guise's castle on the borders of Lorraine, to wait 
on Madame de Longueville, and find out if her word 
was already pledged. Both Madame de Longueville 
and her clever mother, Antoinette de Bourbon, re- 

^ J. Kaulek, " Correspondance Politique de M. de Castillon," 
4, 5 ; Calendar of State Papers, xii. 2, 394. 

2 Calendar of State Papers, xii. 2, 392; G. Pimodan, " La Mere 
des Guises, 72. 



148 THE COURTSHIP OF HENRY VHI. [Bk. VI 

turned evasive answers, saying that the Duke of 
Guise had agreed to the marriage with King James, 
but that his daughter's consent had never been given. 
This reply encouraged Henry to persevere with his 
suit, while Mewtas's description of the Duchess's 
beauty, in Castillon's words, " set the tow on fire." He 
complained that his brother had behaved shamefully 
in preferring the beggarly King of Scots to him, and 
was forcing the lady to marry James against her will. 
In vain Castillon told him that Madame de Longueville 
had been promised to the King of Scots before Queen 
Jane's death, and that Francis could not break his 
word without mortally offending his old ally and son- 
in-law. Nothing daunted, Henry sent Mewtas again 
to Joinville in February, 1538, to obtain Madame de 
Longueville's portrait, and ask if she were still free. 
This time his errand proved fruitless. The marriage 
with the King of Scots was already concluded, and 
the contract signed. Nevertheless, Henry still harped 
on the same string. " II revient toujours a ses 
moutons," wrote Castillon, " et ne pent pas oublier 
sa bergere." " Truly he is a marvellous man !"^ 

Meanwhile Cromwell, who had no personal inclina- 
tion for the French alliance, was making inquiries in 
other directions. Early in December, while Mewtas 
was on his way to Joinville, the Lord Privy Seal wrote 
privately to Hutton, desiring him to send him a list 
of ladies in Flanders who would be suitable consorts 
for the King. In a letter written on the 4th of De- 
cember, the Ambassador replied that he had little 
knowledge of ladies, and feared he knew no one at 
the Regent's Court " meet to be Queen of Eng- 
land." 

1 Kaulek, 12, 15; Calendar of State Papers, xiii. i, 54. 



Dec, 1537] A GOODLY PERSON 149 

'* The widow of Count Egmont," he wrote, " was 
a fair woman of good report, and the Duke of Cleves 
had a marriageable daughter, but he heard no great 
praise of her person or beauty. There is," he added, 
" the Duchess of Milan, whom I have not seen, but 
who is reported to be a goodly personage of excellent 
beauty."^ 

Five days later Hutton wrote again, to announce 
the arrival of the Duchess, who entered Brussels on 
the 8th, and was received by a great company of 
honourable gentlemen. 

" She is, I am informed, of the age of sixteen years, 
very high in stature for that age— higher, in fact, 
than the Regent — and a goodly personage of com- 
petent beauty, of favour excellent, soft of speech, 
and very gentle in countenance. She weareth mourn- 
ing apparel, after the manner of Italy. The common 
saying here is that she is both widow and maid. She 
resembleth much one Mistress Skelton,^ that some- 
time waited in Court upon Queen Anne. She useth 
most to speak French, albeit it is reported that she 
can speak both Italian and High German." 

The same evening Hutton added these further 
details in a postscript addressed to Cromwell's secre- 
tary, Thomas Wriothesley: 

" If it were God's pleasure and the King's, I would 
there were some good alliance made betwixt His 
Highness and the Emperor, and there is none in these 
parts of personage, beauty, and birth, like unto the 
Duchess of Milan. She is not so pure white as was 
the late Queen, whose soul God pardon, but she hath 
a singular good countenance, and when she chanceth 
to smile, there appeareth two pits in her cheeks and 
one in her chin, the which becometh her right excel- 
lently well."3 

^ State Papers, Record Office, viii. 5. 

2 Anne Boleyn's cousin Mary Skelton, who had been a great 
favourite with the King (see Calendar of State Papers, xiii. i, 24). 

3 State Papers, Record Office, viii. 7. 

II 



I50 THE COURTSHIP OF HENRY VHI. [Bk. vi 

The honest EngHshman's first impressions of Chris- 
tina were evidently very favourable. During the 
next week he watched her carefully, and was much 
struck by " the great majesty of her bearing and charm 
of her manners." At the same time he expressed his 
earnest conviction that, now peace was concluded 
between the Emperor and the French King, a close 
alliance between his own master and the Emperor 
was the more necessary, and suggested that a marriage 
between Henry and the Duchess, and another be- 
tween the Princess Mary and the Duke of Cleves, 
would be very advantageous to both monarchs, who 
would then have all Germany at their command. 

Cromwell lost no time in placing these letters in 
his master's hands. Hutton's account of the Duch- 
ess's beauty and virtues made a profound impression 
on the King, and, since Madame de Longueville was 
beyond his reach, he determined to pay his addresses 
to the Emperor's niece. With characteristic impetu- 
osity, he wrote to Wyatt on the 22nd of January, 
saying that, as the Duchess of Milan's match with 
the Duke of Cleves was broken off, he thought of 
honouring her with an offer of marriage. This he 
desired Wyatt to suggest as of himself, in conversa- 
tion with the Emperor and his Ministers, Granvelle 
and Covos, giving them a friendly hint to make over- 
tures on behalf of the said Duchess.^ 

Strangely enough, two years before Charles had 
himself proposed this alliance between his niece and 
the King of England. In May, 1536, when he was 
hurrying northwards to defend Savoy against the 
French, the news of Anne Boleyn's fall reached him 
at Vercelli. Without a moment's delay he wrote to 

1 Calendar of State Papers, xiii. i, 42. 



Jan., 1538] KING HENRY'S SUIT 151 

Chapuys, his Ambassador in London, saying that, 
since Henry, being of so amorous a complexion, was 
sure to take another wife, and it was most important 
that he should not marry in France, Chapuys might 
propose his union with one of the Emperor's nieces, 
either Queen Eleanor's daughter, the Infanta Maria 
of Portugal, or the widowed Duchess of Milan, " a 
beautiful young lady, very well brought up, and 
with a rich dower." And then, as if a qualm had 
seized him at the thought of sacrificing Christina to 
a man of Henry's character, he added a postscript 
desiring the Ambassador not to mention the Duchess 
unless His Majesty should appear averse to the 
other .^ 

By the time, however, that these letters reached 
London, it was plain that the fickle monarch's affec- 
tions were already fixed on Jane Seymour, and 
nothing more came of the Emperor's proposal until, 
in January, 1538, Henry himself wrote to Wyatt. 
Sir Thomas, who knew his royal master intimately, 
hastened to approach the Emperor, and on the 2nd of 
February Charles wrote from Barcelona to Chapuys, 
saying that, although royal ladies ought by right to 
be sought, not offered, in marriage, the King's lan- 
guage was so frank and sincere that he was willing to 
waive ceremony, and lend a favourable ear to his 
brother's proposal. Before these letters reached the 
Imperial Ambassador, he received a message from 
Henry, saying that he wished to treat of his own 
marriage with the Duchess of Milan, being convinced 
that a Princess born and bred in Northern climes 
would suit him far better than the Portuguese 
Infanta. The next day Cromwell paid a visit to 

^ Calendar of Spanish State Papers, v. 2, 572. 



152 THE COURTSHIP OF HENRY VHI. [Bk. vi 

Chapuys, and confirmed every word of the royal 
message.^ 

On the eve of Valentine's Day Henry saw Castillon, 
and told him in bitter tones that, if his master did not 
choose to give him Madame de Longueville, he could 
find plenty of better matches, and meant to marry 
the Duchess of Milan and conclude a close alliance 
with the Emperor .2 

On the same day the German reformer Melanchthon, 
writing from Jena to a Lutheran friend, summed up 
the situation neatly in the following words : 

" The Widow of Milan, daughter of Christian, the 
captive King of Denmark, was brought to Germany 
to wed the young Duke of Juliers. This is now 
changed, for Juliers becomes heir to Guelders, against 
the Emperor's will, and the girl is offered to the 
Englishman, whom the Spaniards, aiming at universal 
empire, would join to themselves against the French- 
men and us. There is grave matter for your con- 
sideration."^ 

II. 

The ball was now set rolling, but, as Chapuys fore- 
told, there were many difficulties in the way. For the 
moment, however, all went well. Henry sent Hutton 
orders to watch the Duchess closely, and report on 
all her words, deeds, and looks. In obedience to 
these commands, the Ambassador hung about the 
palace from early morning till late at night, was pre- 
sent at supper and card parties, attended the Queen 
out riding and hunting, and lost no opportunity 
of entering into conversation with Christina herself. 

^ Calendar of Spanish State Papers, v. 2, 429. 

2 Kaulek, 24; Calendar of State Papers, xiii. i, 82. 

3 Calendar of State Papers, xiii. i, 93. 



Feb., 1538] HUTTON'S ADVANCES 153 

One evening towards the end of February a page 
brought him some letters from the Duchess's servant, 
Gian Battista Ferrari, who had friends among the 
ItaHan merchants in London, with a request that 
the Ambassador would forward them by his courier. 
The next morning, after Mass, when the Queen passed 
into the Council-chamber, Hutton took advantage of 
this opportunity to thank the Duchess most humbly 
for allowing him to do her this small service. Christina 
replied, with a gracious smile, that she would not have 
ventured to give him this trouble, had she not been 
as ready herself to do him any pleasure that lay in 
her power. 

It was stormy weather. For three days and nights 
it had rained without ceasing, and courtiers and 
ladies alike found the time hang heavy on their hands. 
" This weather liketh not the Queen," remarked 
Christina, who was standing by an open window 
looking out on the park. " She is thereby penned up, 
and cannot ride abroad to hunt." As she spoke, the 
wind drove the rain with such violence into her face 
that she was obliged to draw back farther into the 
room, and Hutton, growing bolder, asked if it were 
true that the Duchess herself loved hunting. 
" Nothing better," replied Christina, laughing; and 
she seemed as if she would gladly have prolonged the 
conversation. But then two ancient gentlemen drew 
near — " Master Bernadotte Court, her Grand Master, 
who, next to Monsieur de Courrieres, is chief about 
her and another " — and, with a parting bow, the 
Duchess retired to her own rooms. 

" She speaketh French," adds Hutton in reporting 
this interview to Cromwell, " and seemeth to be of 
few words. And in her speaking she lispeth, which 



154 THE COURTSHIP OF HENRY VOL [Bk. vi 

doth nothing misbecome her. I cannot in anything 
perceive but she should be of much soberness, very 
wise, and no less gentle."^ 

Among the ladies who came to Court for the 
Carnival fetes, Hutton found a friend in the 
Duke of Aerschot's sister, Madame de Berghen, a 
lively lady whom he had known in the town of 
Berghen-op-Zoom, where he had spent much time as 
Governor of the Merchant Adventurers. The Dutch 
merchants in this city had presented him with a 
house, an honour which the Ambassador appreciated 
highly, although he complained that it led him into 
great extravagance, and that the furniture, tapestries, 
and pictures, necessary for its adornment, " plucked 
the lining out of his purse, and left him as rich as a 
newly-shorn sheep." ^ 

One day Madame de Berghen saw Hutton in the 
act of delivering a packet of letters which Wyatt had 
forwarded from Barcelona to the Queen, and her 
curiosity was excited by the warmth of Mary's thanks. 
That evening she invited the English Ambassador to 
dinner to meet her kinsman the Bishop of Liege, " a 
goodly personage," remarks Hutton, " but a man of 
little learning and less discretion, and, like most 
Bishops in these parts, very unfit for his office." 
When this secular ecclesiastic retired, the Lady 
Marchioness, " whose tongue always wagged freely," 
asked Hutton if the letters which he had delivered to 
the Queen came from England, and confessed that 
she hoped they contained good news regarding the 
Duchess of Milan, whose beauty, wisdom, and great 
gentleness, she could not praise too highly. She told 
him that he would have been amazed had he seen 

^ State Papers, Record Ofi&ce, viii. i6. ^ ibid., viii. 30. 



March, 1538J " MR. HAUNCE " 155 

Christina gorgeously apparelled as she was the day 
before, and confided to him that the Duchess was 
having her portrait taken by the Court painter, 
Bernard van Orley, and had promised to give it to 
her. Hutton begged to be allowed to borrow the pic- 
ture in order to show it to his wife, and told Cromwell 
that as soon as he could secure the portrait he would 
send it to England. Accordingly, on the 9th of 
March the Ambassador received the picture, which 
Madame de Berghen begged him to accept as her gift, 
and sent a servant to bear it without delay to the 
Lord Privy Seal's house in St. James's. Late on the 
following evening, much to the Ambassador's sur- 
prise, a young Shropshire gentleman, named Mr. 
Philip Hoby, who had lately entered Cromwell's ser- 
vice, appeared at his lodgings, accompanied by the 
King's painter. Master Hans Holbein. At this time 
the German master was at the height of his reputation. 
Since 1536, when he entered Henry's service as Court 
painter, he had executed some of his finest portraits, 
including the famous picture of the King in Whitehall 
Palace, the superb portrait of Queen Jane, and that 
of Cromwell himself, which is so marvellous a revela- 
tion of character. Now the Lord Privy Seal sent him 
across the Channel to take a sketch of the Duchess 
of Milan, and bring it back with all possible despatch. 
Hutton's first idea was to send a messenger to stop 
the bearer of the Flemish portrait, fearing it might 
give a wrong impression of the lady, " since it was 
not so perfect as the cause required, and as the said 
Mr. Haunce could make it." But his servant had 
already sailed, and the Ambassador could only beg 
Cromwell to await Master Hans's return before he 
formed any opinion of the Duchess. The next morn- 



156 THE COURTSHIP OF HENRY VHI. [Bk. vi 

ing he waited on the Queen, and informed her how 
the Lord Privy Seal, having received secret over- 
tures from the Imperial Ambassador for a marriage 
between the King's Majesty and Her Grace of Milan, 
thought the best way to approach the King was to 
show him a portrait of the Duchess. 

" And forasmuch as his lordship heard great 
commendation of the form, beauty, wisdom, and 
other virtuous qualities, with which God had en- 
dowed the Duchess, he could perceive no means more 
meet for the advancement of the same than to pro- 
cure her perfect picture, for which he had sent a 
man very excellent in the making of physiognomies." 

After long and elaborate explanation, Hutton asked 
humbly if his lordship's servant might salute the 
Duchess, and beg her to appoint a time and place for 
the painter to accomplish his task. 

Mary was evidently greatly surprised to hear of 
the Ambassador's errand. She started from her 
chair in amazement, but, quickly recovering com- 
posure, she sat down again, and listened atten- 
tively till Hutton had done speaking. Then she 
thanked him and Lord Cromwell for their good-will 
to the Emperor, and said that she had no objection 
to grant his request, and that he should see the 
Duchess herself. With these few words she rose 
and passed into the Council-chamber. Presently 
Christina entered the room, attended by two ladies. 
She listened graciously to Hutton's message, ex- 
pressed her gratitude to Lord Cromwell for his kind 
intentions, and sent Benedetto da Corte back with 
him to meet the English gentleman. Fortunately, 
Philip Hoby was a pleasant and cultivated young 
man who could speak Italian fluently. He con- 
versed for some time with Messer Benedetto, much 



March, 1538] HOLBEIN'S PORTRAIT 1 57 

to Hutton's envy and admiration, and at two o'clock 
that afternoon was conducted by him into the 
presence of the Duchess. 

Cromwell had given Hoby minute instructions as 
to his behaviour on this occasion, and had composed 
a long and elaborate speech which he was to deliver 
to Christina herself. 

" The said Philip shall, as of himself, express a 
wish that it might please the King, now a widower, 
to advance Her Grace to the honour of Queen of 
England, considering her virtuous qualities were a 
great deal more than ever was notified, and for a great 
confirmation of amity and love to continue between 
the Emperor's Majesty and the King's Highness." 

Hoby was charged to take careful note of the 
Duchess's answers, gestures, and expression, and 
was especially to note if she seemed favourably 
inclined to these proposals, in order that he might 
be able to satisfy Henry's anxiety on the subject.^ 

Philip Hoby was too accomplished a courtier not 
to discharge his errand with tact and courtesy. The 
Duchess was graciously pleased to accede to his 
request, and at one o'clock the next day Holbein was 
ushered by Messer Benedetto into his mistress's 
presence. The time allowed for the sitting was short, 
but Master Hans was an adept at his art, and had 
already taken drawings in this swift and masterly 
fashion of all the chief personages at the English Court. 

" Having but three hours' space," wrote Hutton, 
" he showed himself to be master of that science. 
For his picture is very perfect; the other is but 
slobbered in comparison to it, as by the sight of 
both your lordship shall well perceive." ^ 

^ British Museum, Additional Manuscripts, 5,498, f. 2; Calendar 
of State Papers, xiii. i, 130. 

2 State Papers, Record Office, viii. 17-19. 



158 THE COURTSHIP OF HENRY VHI. [Bk. vi 

An hour afterwards Hoby and the painter both 
took leave of the Duchess and started for Eng- 
land. In order to avoid suspicion and observe the 
strict secrecy enjoined by Cromwell, Hoby did not 
even seek a farewell audience from the Regent, 
who contented herself with sending friendly greetings 
to the Lord Privy Seal, saying that he should hear 
from her more at large through the Imperial Am- 
bassadors. 

The precious sketch, from which Holbein afterwards 
made " the great table "^ which hung in the Palace of 

^ Holbein's portrait is described in the Catalogues of the King's 
pictures at Westminster in 1542 and 1547 as " No. 12. A greate 
Table with the picture of the Duchess of Myllane, being her 
whole stature." After Henry's death it passed into the hands 
of Fitzalan, Earl of Arundel, the King's Lord Chamberlain and 
godson, who married Lady Katherine Grey, and acquired the 
Palace of Nonsuch, with most of its contents. When he died, 
in 1580, it became the property, first of his elder daughter Jane, 
wife of Lord Lumley, and then of her great-nephew, Thomas 
Howard, Earl of Arundel. This great collector took the Duchess 
of Milan's portrait with him abroad during the Civil Wars, and 
after his death, in 1645, it hung, with many other Holbeins, in 
the house of his widow at Amsterdam. Lady Arundel left the 
whole collection to her son, Henry Howard, who became the sixth 
Duke of Norfolk, and Holbein's portrait remained in the family 
until, in 1909, it was acquired by the National Gallery for the 
sum of ;^72,ooo. A second portrait of the Duchess of Milan, a 
half-length, is mentioned in Henry VIII. 's Catalogues ("No. 138. 
A Table with a picture of the Duchess of Myllane "), and was dis- 
covered by Sir George Scharf in a waiting-room near the private 
chapel at Windsor. This is probably the portrait by Van Orley 
which Hutton sent to England before Holbein's arrival at Brussels. 
The attitude of the sitter, her dress and features, are the same 
as in Holbein's picture, but the face is less finely modelled and 
lacks charm and expression. The hands are in a slightly different 
position, and instead of one big ruby ring she wears three rings 
— a cameo and a gold ring on the right hand, and a black ring, the 
badge of widowhood, on the third finger of the left hand. This 
curious and interesting portrait is plainly the work of an inferior 



March, 1538. AT HAMPTON COUI^T 159 

Westminster until Henry's death, was safely de- 
livered into Cromwell's hands, and shown by him to 
the King on the i8th of March. Henry was singu- 
larly pleased with the portrait, and, as his courtiers 
noticed, seemed to be in better humour than for 
months past. For the first time since Queen Jane's 
death he sent for his musicians, and made them play 
to him all the afternoon and evening. Two days 
afterwards he went to Hampton Court, and " gave 
orders for new and sumptuous buildings '* at this 
riverside palace. After that he returned to White- 
hall by water, accompanied by his whole troop of 
musicians, paid a visit to his brother-in-law's wife, 
Katherine, Duchess of Suffolk, and resumed his old 
habit of going about with a few of his favourites in 
masks — " a sure sign," remarked Chapuys, " that he 
is going to marry again." 

The Imperial Ambassadors, Chapuys and his 
colleague Don Diego Mendoza, were now treated with 
extraordinary civility. They were invited to Hamp- 
ton Court, where Henry entertained them at a 
splendid banquet, and showed them his " fine new 
lodgings " and the priceless tapestries and works of 
art with which Cardinal Wolsey had adorned this 
magnificent house. The next day they were taken 
to the royal manor of Nonsuch to see the little Prince, 
" one of the prettiest children you ever saw, and his 
sister, Madam Elizabeth, who is also a sweet little 
girl." Then they went on to Richmond to visit Prin- 

artist, and, as the Ambassador justly remarked, bears no com- 
parison with Holbein's Duchess — " surely," in the words of his 
biographer, " one of the most precious pictures in the world " 
(Wornum's " Life of Holbein," p. 322; L. Cust in the Burlington 
Magazine, August, 191 1, p. 278; and Sir G. Scharf in " Archseo- 
logia," xl. 205). 



i6o THE COURTSHIP OF HENRY VHI. [Bk. vi 

cess Mary, who played to them with rare skill on both 
spinet and lute, and spoke of her cousin the Emperor 
in terms of the deepest gratitude. The French 
Ambassadors, Castillon and the Bishop of Tarbes, 
who arrived at Hampton Court just as the Imperial 
Envoys were leaving, were received with marked 
coolness, a treatment, as Chapuys shrewdly remarks, 
" no doubt artfully designed to excite their jealousy." ^ 
The sight of Holbein's portrait revived Henry's wish 
to see Christina, and he pressed Chapuys earnestly to 
induce his good sister the Queen of Hungary to bring 
her niece to meet him at Calais . But on this point Mary 
was obdurate. She told the Ambassador that this 
was out of the question, and although she wrote civilly 
to the Lord Privy Seal, thanking him for his good offices, 
she complained bitterly to Chapuys of Cromwell's 
extraordinary proceeding in sending the painter to 
Brussels, and laid great stress on her condescension 
in allowing him to take her niece's portrait. So far 
Charles himself had never written fully to his sister 
on the subject, and Mary asked Chapuys repeatedly 
if these proposals really came from the Emperor, 
and if the King and Cromwell were sincere. As for 
her part, she believed these flattering words were 
merely intended to deceive her. Chapuys could only 
assure her that both Henry and his Minister were 
very much in earnest. When the courier arrived 
from Spain, the King was bitterly disappointed 
because there was no letter from Charles, and sent 
Cromwell twice to implore the Ambassadors, for 
God's sake, to tell him if they had any good news 
to impart. On Lady Day the Minister came to 
Chapuys's lodgings, and, after two hours' earnest con- 
^ Calendar of Spanish State Papers, v. 2, 523. 



March, 1538] CHRISTINA'S CHARM 161 

versation, went away " somewhat consoled." The 
next day Henry sent for the Ambassadors, and dis- 
cussed the subject in the frankest, most famihar 
manner, ending by saying with a merry laugh: 
" You think it a good joke, I trow, to see me in love 
at my age !" 

In his impatience, Henry complained that Hutton 
was remiss in his duties, and did not say enough 
about the Duchess in his despatches. Yet the 
excellent Ambassador was unremitting in his attend- 
ance on Her Grace, and spent many hours daily at 
Court, watching her closely when she danced or played 
at cards, and telling the King that he " felt satisfied 
that her great modesty and gentleness proceeded from 
no want of wit, but that she was rather to be esteemed 
wisest among the wise."^ 

From the day of Hoby's visit Christina treated 
Hutton with marked friendliness, and threw aside 
much of her reserve in talking with him. On the 
bright spring days, when the Queen and her niece 
hunted daily in the forest, the Englishman seldom 
failed to accompany them. He admired the Duchess's 
bold horsemanship, and was much struck by the 
evident delight which she and her aunt took in 
this favourite sport. By way of ingratiating him- 
self with Mary, he presented her with four couple 
of English hounds, " the fairest that he had ever 
seen," and a fine gelding, which made Christina 
remark that he had done the Queen a great pleasure, 
and that she had never seen her aunt so well mounted . 
Hutton hastened to reply that, since Her Grace was 
good enough to admire the horse, he would do his 
utmost to secure another as good for her own use, 

1 State Papers, Record Of&ce, viii. 21. 



i62 THE COURTSHIP OF HENRY VHI. [Bk. vi 

which offer she accepted graciously.^ All these in- 
cidents naturally provoked attention, and, in spite 
of the secrecy with which the negotiations were 
carried on, the King's marriage with the Duchess of 
Milan was freely discussed both in Flanders and in 
England. 

" Few Englishmen," wrote the Duke of Norfolk 
to Cromwell on the 6th of April, " will regret the 
King of Scots' marriage to Madame de Longueville, 
hoping that one of Burgundian blood may have the 
place she might have had."^ 

And the report that after Easter the King was going 
to meet his future bride at Calais became so persistent 
that even Castillon believed it, and complained to 
his royal master of the strange alteration in Henry's 
behaviour, and of the marvellous haughtiness and 
coldness with which he was now treated.^ 



HI. 

On the 27th of March the Imperial Ambassadors 
dined at the Lord Privy Seal's house, to meet 
Archbishop Cranmer, Chancellor Audley, Thomas 
Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, the Lord High Admiral 
Southampton, and two other Bishops, who were the 
Commissioners appointed to treat of two royal mar- 
riages. One of these was the long-planned union of 
Princess Mary with the Infant Don Louis of Portugal, 
brother of the reigning King, which was the ostensible 
object of Don Diego's mission to England. The other 
was the King's own marriage with the Duchess, which 
Henry sent word must be arranged at once, since 

^ State Papers, Record Ofifi.ce, viii. 30. 

2 Calendar of State Papers, xiii. i, 263. 

3 Kaulek, 29, 33, 35. 



March, 1538] MARRIAGE NEGOTIATIONS 163 

until this was concluded he absolutely refused to 
treat of his daughter's alHance with the Infant. As 
they sat down at table, by way of Benedicite, re- 
marks Chapuys, the King's deputies began by re- 
joicing to think they had not to deal with Frenchmen, 
and pouring scorn on their mendacious habits. But 
before the end of the meeting many difficulties had 
arisen. First of all the EngHsh Commissioners de- 
manded that the Count Palatine should renounce all 
his wife's rights to the crown of Denmark without 
compensation. Then the question of the Papal 
dispensation, which was necessary owing to Chris- 
tina's relationship to Katherine of Aragon, was 
mooted, and, as Chapuys soon realized, was likely to 
prove an insuperable difficulty, since nothing would 
induce Henry to recognize the Pope's authority.^ 

During the next few weeks several meetings be- 
tween the Commissioners took place, and the Am- 
bassadors were repeatedly admitted to confer with 
the King and his Privy Council ; but little progress 
was made, and Chapuys informed the Regent that 
there was even less hope of agreement than there 
had been at first. Henry on his part complained 
loudly of the coldness of the Imperial Envoys, and 
of their evident desire to push forward the Portuguese 
marriage and drop his own, which was the one thing 
for which he really cared .^ An attempt to effect 
some mode of reconciliation between him and the 
Pope only incensed Henry, who sent two Doctors of 
Law, Bonner and Haynes, to Madrid, to protest 
against the meeting of a General Council, and to 
point out how the Bishops of Rome wrested Scripture 

^ Calendar of Spanish State Papers, v. 2, 524. 
2 Calendar of State Papers, xiii. i, 258. 



i64 THE COURTSHIP OF HENRY VHI. [Bk. vi 

to the maintenance of their lusts and worldly ad- 
vantage. And he told Don Diego angrily that the 
meeting of a Council would do him the worst injury 
in the world, since if he refused to attend it he would 
be cut off from the rest of Christendom.^ To add to 
the King's ill-temper, he was suffering from a return 
of the ulcers in the leg from which he had formerly 
suffered, and for some days his condition excited 
serious alarm. 

On his recovery, Castillon, who had been looking 
on with some amusement while the Emperor's folk 
were " busy brewing marriages," approached His 
Majesty with flattering words, and tried to instil 
suspicions of Cromwell into his mind. Henry swal- 
lowed the bait greedily, and the French Ambassador's 
remarks on his favourite's " great Spanish passion " 
rankled in his mind to so great an extent that he sent 
for Cromwell and rated him soundly, telling him 
that he was quite unfit to meddle in the affairs of 
Kings. The wily Frenchman, satisfied that the only 
way of managing this wayward monarch was to 
make him fall in love, took advantage of his present 
mood to speak to him of the Queen of Scotland's 
sister, Louise de Guise, whom he described as being 
quite as beautiful as herself, with the additional 
advantage of being a maid, and not a widow. Henry, 
who was on his way to Mass when Castillon made 
this suggestion, slapped him familiarly on the back, 
and laughed, saying he must hear more of this young 
lady. The next day the Comptroller of the King's 
Household was sent to ask the Ambassador for par- 
ticulars about Mademoiselle de Guise, and was told 
that she was so like Madame de Longueville that you 
* Calendar of Spanish State Papers, v. 2, 526, 558. 



May. 1538] LOUISE DE GUISE 165 

would hardly know the sisters apart, and that a 
Scotchman who had seen both, wondered how King 
James could prefer Mary to so lovely a creature as 
Louise. The French Ambassador now found him- 
self overwhelmed with attentions. The King sent 
him presents of venison and artichokes from his 
gardens, invited him to spend Sunday at Green- 
wich, and, when the plague broke out in London, 
lent him the beautiful old house in Chelsea which 
had belonged to Sir Thomas More, as a country 
residence.^ 

The wedding of King James was finally celebrated 
at Chateaudun on the 9th of May, and, hearing that 
the Duke of Guise and his fair daughter Louise had 
accompanied the new Queen to Havre, Henry sent 
Philip Hoby across the Channel to see Mademoiselle de 
Guise and have her picture painted. These orders 
were duly executed, and Louise's portrait, probably 
painted by Holbein, was placed in the King's hands. 
But, although Henry " did not find the portrait ugly," 
he was now anxious to see Louise's younger sister, 
Renee, who was said to be still more beautiful, and 
would not be put off when Castillon told him that 
she was about to take the veil in a convent at Reims. 

" No doubt," remarked Montmorency, the Con- 
stable of France, " as King Henry has made himself 
Pope in his own country, he would prefer a nun to 
any other Princess."^ 

Nothing would now satisfy Henry but that the 
French King or Queen should meet him at Calais 
with the Duke of Guise's daughters, Mademoiselle de 
Lorraine, and Mademoiselle de Vendome, who had 
all been recommended to his notice. When the 

1 Kaulek, 48, 50, 53, 58, 70. ^ Ihid., 58, 73; Pimodan, 73. 

12 



166 THE COURTSHIP OF HENRY VHI. [Bk. vi 

English Envoy, Brian, proposed this to Queen 
Eleanor, she replied indignantly that she was not a 
keeper of harlots, and the Constable told Castillon 
once more that French Princesses were not to be 
trotted out like hackneys at a fair. At last the 
Ambassador, tired of repeating that this plan was 
impossible, asked Henry if the Knights of King 
Arthur's Round Table had ever treated ladies in such 
a fashion. This brought the King to his senses. 
He reddened and hesitated, and, after rubbing his 
nose for some moments, said that his proposal might 
have sounded a little uncivil, but he had been so 
often deceived in these matters that he could trust 
no one but himself.^ 

Still Henry would not give up all hope of winning 
the fair Louise, and towards the end of August he 
sent Philip Hoby on a fresh errand to Joinville. As 
before, he was to take Holbein with him, and, after 
viewing well the younger sister, ask the Duchess 
of Guise for leave to take the portraits of both her 
daughters, Louise and Renee, " in one faire table." 
Hoby was to explain that he had business in these 
parts, and that, since he had already made acquaint- 
ance with Mademoiselle de Guise at Havre, he could 
not pass Joinville without saluting her. On leaving 
Joinville he was to proceed to the Duke of Lorraine's 
Court, and inform him that the Lord Privy Seal, 
having heard that His Excellency had a daughter of 
excellent quality, begged that the King's painter might 
be allowed to take her portrait. On the 30th of August 
the travellers reached Joinville, as we learn from 
the following letter addressed by the Duchess of 
Guise to her eldest daughter in Scotland : 

1 Kaulek, 76, 79, 81 ; Spanish State Papers, vi. i, 9. 



Aug., 1538] HOLBEIN AT JOINVILLE 167 

" It is but two days since the King of England's 
gentleman who was at Havre, and the painter, were 
here. The gentleman came to see me, pretending 
that he was on his way to find the Emperor, and, 
having heard that Louise was ill, would not pass by 
without inquiring after her, that he might take 
back news of her health to the King his master. He 
begged to be allowed to see her, which he did, although 
it was a day when the fever was on her, and repeated 
the same words which he had already said to me. 
He then told me that, as he was so near Lorraine, 
he meant to go on to Nancy to see the country. I 
have no doubt that he was going there to draw 
Mademoiselle's portrait, in the same way that he has 
drawn the others, and so I sent down to the gentle- 
man's lodgings, and found that the said painter 
was there. Since then they have been at Nancy, 
where they spent a day and were well feasted and 
entertained, and at every meal the maltre d' hotel 
ate with them, and many presents were made them. 
That is all I know yet, but you see that, at the worst, 
if you do not have your sister for a neighbour, you 
may yet have your cousin."^ 

This time Hoby's journey was evidently unsuccess- 
ful. Louise was ill of intermittent fever, and Renee 
had already been sent to the convent at Reims, 
where she was afterwards professed; and it is clear 
from Antoinette's letters that she had no wish to 
marry either of her daughters to Henry. A month 
before, on the 3rd of August, she wrote to the Queen 
of Scotland: " I have heard nothing more of the 
proposals which you know of"; and again on the 
1 8th: " I have begged your father to speak of these 
affairs to the King, that we may be rid of them if 
possible, for no one could ever be happy with such 
a man." 2 

As for Anne de Lorraine, in spite of many ex- 
cellent quahties, she lacked the beauty and charm 

^ Balcarres Manuscripts, ii. 20. ^ Ibid., ii. lo. 



i68 THE COURTSHIP OF HENRY VHI. [Bk. vi 

of her cousins, and, as her aunt Antoinette said, 
" elle est bien honnete, mais pas si belle que je 
voudrais." ^ 

The result of these disappointments was to revive 
Henry's wish to marry Christina. Several times in 
the course of the summer Castillon remarked that 
this monarch was still hankering after the Duchess of 
Milan, and had repeatedly tried to induce the Regent 
to bring her niece to meet him at Brussels. " The 
King my master," said Cromwell to Chapuys, " will 
never marry one, who is to be his companion for life, 
without he has first seen and known her."^ In a 
long and careful paper of instructions which Henry 

^ There has been some confusion as to the date of Hol- 
bein's visit to Joinville, owing to a mistake in the Calendar 
of State Papers (xiii. i, 130), where Cromwell's instructions 
to Hoby for his journeys to Brussels and France are entered 
under the date of February, 1538. But the Duchess of Guise's 
letter (see Appendix), as well as the payment of ;;^io made by 
Sir Brian Tuke, Treasurer of the Household, to Hans Holbein on 
the 30th of December, 1538, " for going to the parts of High 
Burgony about certain of the King's business," make it clear 
that this journey took place at the end of August (G. Scharf, 
" Archaeologia," xxxix. 7). From Lorraine the painter went on 
to Bale, where he spent some months, and returned to England 
at Christmas. The original documents in the British Museum 
(Additional Manuscripts, 5,498, f. i) bear no date, and are on 
separate sheets, and the heading of the instructions regarding 
the journey to Brussels was added by a later hand, and is thus 
worded : " Instructions given by the L. Cromwell to Philip Hoby, 
sent over by him to the Duchess of Lorraine, then Duchess of 
Milan " — i.e-., Christina, Duchess of Lorraine, at that time Duchess 
of Milan. But the editor of the Calendars inserted the words 
" to the " between " then " and " Duchess of Milan," thus making 
it appear that Hoby went first to Lorraine, and then to the Duchess 
of Milan, whereas the journey to Brussels took place in March, 
and that to Lorraine in August. Since this chapter was written, 
the subject has been fully dealt with by Mr. A. B. Chamberlain 
in the Burlington Magazine, April, 191 2. 

- Calendar of Spanish State Papers, v. 2, 531. 



Aug., i538j HENRY'S SCRUPLES 169 

drew up for the Ambassador Wyatt, he lays great 
stress on this point. 

" His Grace, prudently considering how that mar- 
riage is a bargain of such nature as may endure for 
the whole life of man, and a thing whereof the 
pleasure and quiet, or the displeasure and torment, 
doth much depend, thinketh it to be most necessary, 
both for himself and the party with whom it shall 
please God to join him in marriage, that the one 
might see the other before the time that they should 
be so affianced, which point His Highness hath 
largely set forth heretofore to the Emperor's Am- 
bassador."^ 

But on her side Mary was equally inflexible. 
Nothing would induce her to take a step forward 
in this direction, and even Hutton began to realize 
how coldly the marriage overtures were received at 
Brussels. The Queen never failed to ask after the 
King's health or to express her anxiety for the 
strengthening of the ancient friendship between the 
realm of England and the House of Burgundy; but 
when the Ambassador ventured to allude to the 
subject of her niece's preferment, she invariably 
gave an evasive reply. Since both the Queen and 
the Duchess spent much of the summer hunting 
in the Forest of Soignies, or in more distant parts, 
Hutton seldom had an opportunity of seeing Chris- 
tina. Her servants were still very friendly, especi- 
ally the Lord Benedick Court, as Hutton calls the 
Italian master of her household. One evening in 
June, when Hutton had been at Court, Benedetto 
came back to supper with him, whether of his own 
accord or at his mistress's command the English- 
man could not tell. As they walked along the street, 

1 Nott's " Life of Wyatt." ii. 488. 



I70 THE COURTSHIP OF HENRY VHI. [Bk. vi 

Benedetto asked the Ambassador if he had brought 
the Queen any good news about the Duchess. Hutton 
replied that the first good news must come from the 
Emperor, and, to his mind, was a long time upon 
the road. The old man looked up to heaven, and said 
devoutly: " I pray God that I may live to see her 
given to your master, even if I die the next day. 
But," he added significantly, " there is one doubt in 
the matter." Hutton asked eagerly what this might 
be, upon which Benedetto explained that, as the 
King's first wife, the Lady Katherine, was near of 
kin to the Duchess, the marriage could not be 
solemnized without the Pope's dispensation, and this 
he feared His Majesty would never accept. The 
Ambassador replied warmly that he did not know 
what might be against the Bishop of Rome's laws, 
but that he was quite sure his master would do 
nothing against God's laws. Then they sat down to 
supper with other guests, and nothing further was 
said on the subject. But the old Italian knew what 
he was talking about, and the Papal dispensation 
proved to be the one insuperable obstacle which stood 
in the way of a settlement.^ 

Another of Christina's servants, Gian Battista 
Ferrari, paid a visit to England this summer, and 
brought back glowing accounts of the beauties of 
London and the splendours of King Henry's Court. 
He had an Italian friend named Panizone, who was 
one of the royal equerries, and had been sent over 
to England with some Barbary horses from the 
Gonzaga stables. Panizone introduced him to Crom- 
well, who entertained him hospitably, and sent him 
back to tell his mistress all that he had seen and 

^ State Papers, Record Office, viii. 33. 



Sept., 1538] DEATH OF HUTTON 171 

done at the Court of Whitehall. Christina was ex- 
ceedingly curious to hear Battista's account of his 
visit, and was surprised when he told her that Eng- 
land was as beautiful as Italy. When she proceeded 
to inquire if he had seen the King, Battista replied 
that he had been fortunate enough to be received 
by His Majesty, and broke into ecstatic praises of 
Henry's comeliness, gracious manners, and liber- 
ality. The Duchess said that she had often heard 
praises of His Grace, and was glad to know from 
Battista's lips that they were true. After supper 
she sent for him again, and he informed her that 
Chapuys had told him the marriage would shortly 
be concluded. " At this it seemeth she did much 
rejoice." So at least Battista assured Hutton.^ 
Ferrari himself was evidently very anxious to see 
his mistress Queen of England, and in a letter which 
he addressed on the 7th of September to his friend, 
" Guglielmo Panizone scudier del Invictissimo Re 
d' Inghilterra a Londra, alia Corte di sua Maesta," 
he wrote, " Madama the Duchess, my mistress, 
loves the King truly," and proceeded to send com- 
mendations to the Lord Privy Seal, Signor Filippo 
(Hoby), Portinari, and others. This letter contained 
one sad piece of news. " The Ambassador here is 
said to be dying ; I am grieved because of the friend- 
ship between us and his excellent qualities. The next 
one we have will, I hope, be yourself." ^ Battista's 
news was true. Honest John Hutton, the popular 
Governor of the Merchant Adventurers, fell ill at 
Antwerp, and died there on the 5th of September. 
His genial nature had made him a general favourite, 

^ State Papers, Record Office, viii. 40. 
2 Calendar of State Papers, xiii. 2, 119, 



172 THE COURTSHIP OF HENRY VHI. [Bk. vi 

and he was lamented by everyone at Court. '* It is 
a great loss," wrote Don Diego to Cromwell, " because 
he was so good a servant and so merry and honest 
a soul." To his own master, the Emperor, he re- 
marked that the English Ambassador who had just 
died was a jovial, good-natured man, but more fit 
for courtly functions and social intercourse than 
grave political business, for which he had neither 
taste nor capacity.^ 

IV. 

The meeting of the Emperor and King of France 
at Aigues-Mortes in July, 1538, produced a marked 
change in the political situation. This interview, 
which the Pope had failed to bring about at Nice, 
was finally effected by Queen Eleanor, and the two 
monarchs, who had not met since Francis was a 
prisoner at Madrid, embraced each other, dined 
together, and ended by swearing an inviolable friend- 
ship. The truce was converted into a lasting peace, 
and several marriages between the two families were 
discussed in a friendly and informal manner. 

" Never," wrote the Constable to Castillon, " were 
there two faster friends than the King and Emperor, 
and I do not for a moment imagine that His Imperial 
Majesty will ever allow the Widow of Milan to marry 
King Henry ! So do not believe a single word that 
you hear in England I"^ 

This unexpected reconciliation was a bitter pill 
to Henry and Cromwell. The French and Imperial 
Ambassadors at Whitehall exchanged the warmest 
congratulations, and did not fail to indulge in a 
hearty laugh at King Henry's expense. On the 
2ist of August Chapuys and Don Diego followed the 

^ Calendar of Spanish State Papers, vi. i, 42. 2 Kaulek, 77. 



Aug., 1538] CROMWELL AND CHAPUYS i73 

Court to Ampthill, where the King was hunting, and 
were entertained by Cromwell at one of his own 
manors. As they sat down to dinner, the Lord Privy 
Seal asked brusquely if it were true that the King 
and Emperor had made peace, to which the Ambas- 
sadors repHed in the affirmative. He then proceeded 
to start a variety of disagreeable topics. First he 
remarked that he heard the Turk was already in 
Belgrade; next he said that the young Duke of Cleves 
had taken possession of Guelderland, upon which 
Chapuys retaliated by expatiating on the perfect 
friendship and understanding between Charles and 
Francis. After dinner they were admitted into 
the King's presence, and informed him that the 
Queen of Hungary had received the powers necessary 
for the conclusion of the Duchess's marriage, and 
wished to recall Don Diego in order that he might 
draw up the contract. Henry expressed great sorrow 
at parting from the Spaniard, and, drawing him apart, 
begged him to induce the Queen to treat directly 
with him, repeating two or three times that he was 
growing old, and could not put off taking a wife any 
longer. Meanwhile Cromwell was telling Chapuys, 
in another corner of the hall, how much annoyed the 
King had been to hear that the Emperor was treating 
of his niece's marriage with the Duke of Cleves, 
which would make people say either that she had 
refused the King or else had only accepted Henry 
after refusing Cleves. Chapuys stoutly denied the 
truth of this report, and Cromwell confessed that the 
King was very eager for the marriage, and, if there were 
any difficulty about the Duchess's dowry, he would 
gladly give her 20,000 crowns out of his own purse.^ 

1 Calendar of Spanish State Papers, vi. 15-31. 



174 THE COURTSHIP OF HENRY VHI. [Bk. vi 

As the Ambassadors were putting on their riding- 
boots, Cromwell ran after Don Diego with a present 
from his master of ;£400, after which they returned 
to London and dined in Chelsea with Castillon, to 
meet Madame de Montreuil, the lady-in-waiting 
of the late Queen Madeleine of Scotland, who was re- 
turning to France. They all spent a merry evening, 
laughing over King Henry's matrimonial plans, and 
Castillon declared that the King and Lord Privy Seal 
were so much perturbed at his master's alliance with 
the Emperor that they hardly knew if they were in 
heaven or on earth .^ 

Don Diego arrived in Flanders to find general re- 
joicings—" gun-shots and melody and jousting were 
the order of the day " — and an English merchant 
declared that the proud Spaniards were ready to 
challenge all the world. Queen Mary marked the 
occasion by honouring her favourite, Count Henry of 
Nassau, with a visit at his Castle of Breda in Holland. 
The beautiful gardens and vast orchards planted 
in squares, after the fashion of Italy, which excited 
the Cardinal of Aragon's admiration, were in their 
summer beauty, and a series of magnificent fetes 
were given in honour of the Queen and her companion, 
the Duchess of Milan. The Count was assisted in 
doing the honours by his third wife, the Marchioness 
of Zeneta, a rich Spanish heiress, whom the Emperor 
had given him in marriage, and his son Rene, Prince 
of Orange. The presence of Christina at Breda on 
this occasion, and the attentions that were paid her 
by her hosts, naturally gave rise to a report that she 
was about to wed the Prince, and Cromwell told 
Don Diego before he left Dover that this rumour had 

1 Calendar of Spanish State Papers, vi. 41 . 



Sept., i538j STEPHEN VAUGHAN 175 

caused the King great annoyance.^ But the fes- 
tivities at Breda met with a tragic close. On the 
day after the royal ladies left the castle, Henry of 
Nassau died very suddenly, and Don Diego heard 
the sad news when he reached the castle gates, on 
his way to salute his kinswoman, the Marchioness. 

The Ambassador now hastened to Court, and craved 
an audience of the Queen to deliver King Henry's 
letters; but he found her little inclined to attend to 
business, and engaged in preparations to pay a visit 
to King Francis, who had gallantly invited her to 
a hunting-party at Compiegne. At first there had 
been some doubt if the Duchess should be of the 
party, but Queen Eleanor was eager to see her niece, 
and Christina was nothing loth to take part in these 
brilliant festivities. Meanwhile Henry's renewed im- 
patience to conclude his marriage was shown by the 
promptitude with which another Ambassador was 
sent to take Hutton's place. 

On the 27th of September the new Envoy, Stephen 
Vaughan, was admitted into the Queen's presence, 
and begged for an answer to the letters delivered by 
Don Diego. Mary told him that he might inform 
His Majesty that there was no truth in the reports 
of her niece's marriage, and that, if any coolness had 
arisen between them, it was the King's own fault 
for seeking a wife in other places. Hoby's mission 
to Joinville and Nancy was, it is plain, well known 
at Brussels. But the Queen kept her counsel, and 
told Vaughan that, if his master was still in the same 
mind, she would urge the Emperor to hasten the 
conclusion of the treaty. Only she must beg the 
Ambassador to have a little patience, as her time 

* Calendar of Spanish State Papers, vi. 46. 



176 THE COURTSHIP OF HENRY VHI. [Bk. vi 

was fully occupied at this moment. But the next 
day he was again put off, and told the Queen would 
see him when she reached Mons. Accordingly, 
Vaughan and his colleague, Thomas Wriothesley, 
Cromwell's confidential secretary, arrived at this 
town on the 8th, only to be told by Don Diego that 
they must await the Queen's pleasure at Valen- 
ciennes. The Spanish Ambassador did his best to 
atone for their disappointment by giving them an 
excellent dinner, and lending them two of his own 
horses with velvet saddles and rich trappings for 
the journey.^ 

At length, at eight on Sunday morning, the 6th 
of October, they were conducted into the Queen's 
presence by the Grand Falconer, Molembais, and 
Vaughan, who spoke French fluently, explained 
Henry's reasons for arranging the marriage treaty 
without delay. Mary replied briefly that she had 
already written to accede to the King's request, and 
that no further steps could be taken until after her 
meeting with the French King. Dinner was being 
served while she spoke these words, and, as the meat 
was actually coming in, the Ambassadors were 
compelled to retire. Before they left the room, 
however, they saluted the Duchess, who was standing 
near her aunt, and ventured to tell her how much 
my Lord Privy Seal remained her humble servant, 
although, as she no doubt knew, his overtures had 
been so coldly received. Christina smiled and 
thanked them for their good-will with a gentle grace, 
which went far to mollify their ruffled feelings, and 
made Wriothesley write home that all Hutton had 

^ State Papers, Record Office, viii. 53, 56 ; Calendar of State 
Papers, xiii. 2, 214. 



Oct., 1538] AT COMPIEGNE 177 

said of the Duchess's charms was true. " She is as 
goodly personage, of stature higher than either of us, 
and hath a very good woman's face, competently 
fair and well favoured, but a little brown." ^ 

As if to make amends for these delays, the great 
lords in attendance overwhelmed the Ambassadors 
with civilities. Aerschot invited them to dinner; 
Count Biiren embraced them warmly and asked affec- 
tionately after the King; De Praet, Molembais, and 
Iselstein, escorted them to the door, and Don Diego 
made them a present of wine. When Wriothesley 
fell ill of fever at Cambray, the Queen sent her own 
physician to attend him, and begged him either to 
remain there or return to Brussels. This he refused 
to do, and travelled on by slow stages to Compiegne, 
hoping to obtain another audience there. But the 
roads were bad, and two leagues from Cambray one 
of the carts broke down, leaving the English without 
household stuff or plate when Don Diego came to 
supper .2 

On Tuesday news reached Cambray that King 
Francis was on his way to salute the Queen, and 
Mary rode out to meet him, leaving the Duchess of 
Milan at home with others, who like herself, remarks 
Wriothesley, had no great liking for Frenchmen.^ But 
the King's greeting was most cordial, and when, on 
the following day, Queen Eleanor arrived with a great 
train of lords and ladies, there was much feasting 
and merriment, until on the loth the whole party 
started for Compiegne. 

It was a brilliant company that met in the ancient 

^ State Papers, Record Office, viii. 56-60. 
2 Calendar of State Papers, xiii. 2, 245, 247. 
^ State Papers, Record Office, viii. 67. 



178 THE COURTSHIP OF HENRY VIII. [Bk. vi 

castle of the French Kings, in the forest on the banks 
of the Oise, near the bridge where, a hundred years 
before, Jeanne d'Arc had made her last heroic stand. 
King Francis had summoned all the Princes and Prin- 
cesses of the blood to do honour to the Queen of 
Hungary, and the neighbouring villages were filled 
to overflowing with Court officials and servants. 
There was the King himself, a fine figure in cloth of 
gold and nodding plumes, gallant as ever in spite of 
ill-health and advancing years, with a glance and 
smile to spare for every fair lady; and there was his 
consort, Queen Eleanor, too often neglected by her 
fickle lord, but now radiant with happiness, and in her 
beautiful robes and priceless pearls, as winning and 
almost as fair as when she fascinated the young 
Palatine twenty years ago. The sense of family 
affection was as strong in Eleanor as in all the Habs- 
burgs, and she was overjoyed to meet her sister and 
embrace the daughter of the beloved and lamented 
Isabella. With her came the King's daughter Mar- 
garet, the homely-featured but pleasing and accom- 
plished Princess for whom a royal husband was still 
to be found, and who, the courtiers whispered, might 
now wed the Prince of Spain. 

Her brothers were there too — the dull and morose 
Henry, who had succeeded his elder brother as 
Dauphin two years before, but had never recovered 
from the effects of his long captivity in Spain; and 
the more lively but weak and vicious Charles of 
Angouleme, now Duke of Orleans, whom Eleanor was 
so anxious to see married to the Duchess of Milan, 
With them was the Dauphin's Italian wife, Catherine 
de' Medici, whose wit and grace atoned in her father- 
in-law's eyes for her lack of beauty, although her 



Oct., 1538] A BRILLIANT COMPANY 179 

husband's heart was given to Diane de Poitiers, 
and a childless marriage made her unpopular in the 
eyes of the nation. But a galaxy of fair ladies sur- 
rounded the King and Queen. Chief among them 
was Madame d'fitampes, whose dazzling charms had 
captivated the fickle King, and who now reigned 
supreme both in Court and Council. Of the youthful 
ladies whose charms had aroused King Henry's in- 
terest, only Mademoiselle de Vendome was here. The 
fair Louise had not yet recovered from her illness, and 
the Duchess of Guise was nursing her at Joinville. 
But both her father, Claude of Guise, the Governor 
of Burgundy, and his brother, the Cardinal of Lor- 
raine, were present, and held a high place in the King's 
favour. Claude's elder brother, the Duke of Lorraine, 
had lately been to meet the Emperor at Aigues- 
Mortes and plead his claims to Guelders, but on his 
return he fell ill with a severe attack of gout, and 
was unable to obey the King's summons. In his 
stead he sent Duchess Renee his wife, another 
Bourbon Princess, a daughter of Gilbert de Mont- 
pensier and sister of the famous Constable. Her 
daughter Anne remained at home to nurse the Duke, 
but her eldest son, Francis, came with his mother to 
Compiegne. This cultured and polished Prince, who 
bore the King's name, had been brought up at the 
French Court, and could ride and joust as well as any 
of his peers ; but he was quite thrown into the shade 
by his cousin, Antoine de Bourbon, Duke of Vendome, 
the darling of the people and the idol of all the ladies. 
A head and shoulders taller than the Dauphin and his 
brother, Antoine was the cynosure of all eyes at Court 
festivals. The elegance of his attire, the inimitable 
grace with which he raised his hat, his wit and gaiety, 



i8o THE COURTSHIP OF HENRY VHI. [Bk. VI 

fascinated every woman, while the gilded youth of 
the day copied the fashion of his clothes and the 
precise angle at which he wore the feather in his cap . 
Frivolous, volatile, and recklessly extravagant, Ven- 
dome wore his heart on his sleeve, and was ready to 
enter the lists for the sake of any fair lady. He fell 
desperately in love with the Duchess of Milan at first 
sight, and devoted himself to her service. As premier 
Prince of the blood, he rode at Christina's side, and led 
her out to dance in the eyes of the Court. Together they 
joined in the hunting-parties that were organized on 
a vast scale in the Forest of Compiegne, and while all 
the French were lost in admiration at the fine horse- 
manship of the royal ladies, Antoine de Bourbon 
threw himself at the Duchess's feet, and declared 
himself her slave for life. But whether this gay 
cavalier was too wild and thoughtless for her taste, 
or whether her heart was already given to another, 
Christina paid little heed to this new suitor, and 
remained cold to his impassioned appeals. " The 
Duke of Vendome," wrote Wriothesley to Cromwell, 
" is a great wooer to the Duchess, but we cannot hear 
that he receiveth much comfort."^ 

On the 17th of October the Constable de Mont- 
morency prevailed on the royal party to accompany 
him to his sumptuous home at Chantilly, nine leagues 
farther on the road to Paris. This brave soldier and 
able Minister had grown up in the closest intimacy 
with the Royal Family, and was habitually addressed 
as " bon pere " by the King's children, but had, un- 
fortunately, excited the hatred of the reigning 
favourite, the Duchess of Etampes, who called him 

^ State Papers, Record Office, viii. 78 ; Calendar of State 
Papers, xiii. 2, 255. 



Oct., 1538] A VISIT TO CHANTILLY 181 

openly " un grand coquin," and declared that he tried 
to make himself a second monarch. On the other hand, 
his constant loyalty to Queen Eleanor gratified Mary 
of Hungary, who now gladly accepted his invitation 
to Chantilly. 

Anne de Montmorency was as great a patron of 
art as his royal master, and during the last fifteen 
years he had transformed his ancestral home into a 
superb Renaissance palace. The halls were decorated 
with frescoes by Primaticcio ; the gardens were adorned 
with precious marbles and bronzes, with busts of the 
Caesars and statues of Mars and Hercules, with foun- 
tains of the finest Urbino and Palissy ware. Por- 
traits by Clouet, priceless manuscripts illuminated by 
French and Burgundian masters, and enamels by 
Leonard Limousin, were to be seen in the galleries. 
But what interested Mary and Christina most of all 
were the tapestries woven at Brussels from Raphael 
of Urbino's cartoons, which the Constable had rescued 
after the sack of Rome, and which he restored some 
years later to Pope Julius 1 11.^ 

After entertaining his guests magnificently during 
two days, the Constable accompanied them on a 
hunting-party in the forest, and finally brought 
them back to Compiegne on the 19th of October. 
Here the Queen of Hungary's return was im- 
patiently awaited by the English Ambassadors, who 
found themselves in a miserable plight. The town 
was so crowded that they had to be content with the 
meanest lodgings; the hire of post-horses cost forty 
pounds, and provisions were so scarce that a partridge 
or woodcock sold for tenpence, and an orange for 
more than a groat. The King's Ambassadors at the 

^ F. Decrue, " Anne de Montmorency," 415, 418, 491. 

13 



i82 THE COURTSHIP OF HENRY VIH. [Bk. vi 

French Court— Sir Anthony Browne, and Bonner, 
the Bishop-elect of Hereford — who joined them at 
Compiegne on the 14th, were in still worse case; for 
they could get no horses for love or money, and 
spent six days without receiving a visit from the 
Court officials . These outraged personages stood at the 
window, and saw the French Councillors, and even the 
Constable, go by, without giving them the smallest sign 
of recognition. At least, Vaughan and Wriothesley 
were treated with the utmost civility by the Flemish 
nobles, and their audience was only deferred on 
account of the Queen's visit to Chantilly. Don Diego 
was courtesy itself, and, before he started for Spain, 
wrote a letter to Cromwell, assuring him that Queen 
Mary was the truest friend and sister his master could 
have, but that it had been impossible for her to 
attend to business when her days were spent in fes- 
tivities and family meetings.^ At length, on Sunday, 
the 20th, the Ambassadors were received by the 
Queen, and introduced Browne and Bonner, as well 
as Dr. Edward Carne, a learned lawyer whom 
Henry had sent to assist in drawing up the marriage 
treaty. Mary informed them that Francis was bent 
on taking her to the Duke of Vendome's house at La 
Fere on the way home, but begged Wriothesley, who 
was still unwell, to go straight to Brussels. The next 
day Browne started for England, saying that it was 
impossible to follow a King who " goes out of all 
highways," and on the 22nd Wriothesley and his 
companions set out on their return to Brussels.^ 

^ State Papers, xiii. 2, 238. 
2 Ibid., xiii. 2, 247, 248. 



Oct., 1538] MARRIAGE-MAKING 183 

V. 

By the end of October the English Envoys were 
back at Brussels, rejoicing to be once more in com- 
fortable quarters. Here they found great fear and 
distrust of France prevailing, and much alarm was 
expressed lest the Queen should have been induced 
to give the Duchess of Milan in marriage to a French 
Prince. This, however, was not the case, and the 
English Ambassadors were satisfied that beyond 
feasting and merrymaking nothing had been done. 
A friendly gentleman. Monsieur de Brederode, told 
them that there had been some attempt at marriage- 
making among the women. Queen Eleanor still 
pressed her sister earnestly to further the mar- 
riage of Christina with the Duke of Orleans, as the 
best way of insuring a lasting peace, and had revived 
her old dream of marrying her daughter, Maria of 
Portugal, to the Prince of Spain. But Mary turned 
a deaf ear to all these proposals, saying that she could 
not consider them without Charles's approval. At 
La Fere, in the valley of the Oise, Francis entertained 
his guests at a splendid banquet, after which he pre- 
sented Mary with a very fine diamond, and Christina 
with a beautiful jewel, besides lavishing rings, brace- 
lets, brooches, caps, and pretty trinkets from Paris 
and Milan, Lisbon and Nuremberg, on the ladies of 
their suite. Here he took leave of his guests, but 
the Duke of Vendome insisted on escorting the Queen 
and her niece as far as Valenciennes.^ 

On Monday, the 4th of November, Mary and Chris- 
tina reached Brussels, and were received with warm 
demonstrations of affection. Now, " after all these 
^ Calendar of State Papers, xiii. 2, 261. 



i84 THE COURTSHIP OF HENRY VHI. [Bk. vi 

gay and glorious words," the English Ambassadors 
confidently hoped to see some end to their toil. But 
they soon realized that their hopes were doomed to 
disappointment. First the Queen was too tired to 
receive them; then nothing could be done until the 
return of the Duke of Aerschot, who was her chief 
adviser. At length, on the i6th, the first conference 
took place at the Duke's house. The Captain of the 
Archers, Christina's old friend De Courrieres, con- 
ducted the Ambassadors to the room where the Com- 
missioners were awaiting them — Aerschot, Hoog- 
straaten, Lalaing, and the Chancellor of Brabant, Dr. 
Schoren, " a very wise father." After a lengthy 
preamble, setting forth the powers committed to the 
Regent, the terms of the contract were discussed. 
The chief points on which Wriothesley insisted were 
that Henry should be allowed to see his bride, that 
the payment of her dowry should be assigned to 
Flanders instead of Milan, and that Christina's title 
to Denmark should be recognized, although, re- 
marked the Ambassador, " for my little wit I care not 
if this last condition were scraped out of the book."^ 
The Duchess's claim to the throne of Denmark, as 
Wriothesley realized, was so remote that it seemed 
hardly worth discussing. The dowry and the ques- 
tion of the Papal dispensation were the two real 
stumbling-blocks, and he advised Cromwell, if the 
King was really anxious to secure this desirable wife, 
not to press the former point, money being so scarce 
in Spain and the Netherlands that the Emperor 
would rather leave his niece unwed, than part with 
so large a sum. At the close of the sitting the Duke 
of Aerschot begged Wriothesley to stay to dinner, 

^ Calendar of State Papers, xiii. 2, 255. 



Nov., 1538] KING HENRY'S ANGER 185 

and gave him the chief place at table and pre-eminence 
in all things. The fare was abundant; four courses 
of ten dishes were served in silver, with " covers of a 
marvellous clean and honourable sort," and carvers 
and waiters stood around, and attended as diligently 
to the Ambassador's wants as if he were a Prince. 
Later in the evening the Duke's brother-in-law, the 
Marquis of Berghen, who was always well disposed 
to the English, came to supper, and chatted pleasantly 
for some time, but shocked Wriothesley by asking him 
if it were true that all religion was extinct in Eng- 
land, that Mass was abolished, and that the bones 
of saints were publicly burned. Cromwell's Com- 
missioner, who had himself plundered the shrines of 
St. Swithun at Winchester and of St. Thomas at 
Canterbury, could hardly deny this latter charge, 
although he declared stoutly that only such money- 
making devices and tricks of the friars as the Rood 
of Boxley and the tomb of Becket had been un- 
masked. But, in spite of the outward civility with 
which the Ambassador was treated, he realized that 
all good Catholics in Flanders looked on him with 
horror and disgust. 

All through the summer abbeys and shrines had 
been going down fast. " Dagon is everywhere fall- 
ing," wrote a Kentish fanatic, and, as Castillon said, 
by the end of the year hardly a single abbey was left 
standing. The recent trend of political events had 
served to excite the King's worst passions, and when 
the French Ambassador went to see him early in 
November, he found him in a towering rage. The 
French had treated his Ambassadors abominably; 
the Emperor and King were plotting together to take 
the Duchess of Milan away from him and give her to 



i86 THE COURTSHIP OF HENRY VIII. [Bk. VI 

Monsieur de Vendome, which, " if it be done, would 
finish the picture."^ Late on this same evening, Lord 
Exeter, a grandson of Edward IV. and head of the 
noble house of Courtenay, and his cousin. Lord Mon- 
tague, the son of Lady Sahsbury and brother of 
Cardinal Pole, were thrown into the Tower on the 
charge of high- treason. All that the most prolonged 
cross-examination of their servants and friends could 
bring out to prove their guilt, was that in my Lord 
of Exeter's garden at Horsley Place, in Surrey, Sir 
Edward Nevill had been heard singing merry songs 
against the knaves that ruled about the King, and, 
clenching his fist, had cried: " I trust to give them a 
buffet and see honest men reign in England one day." 
But the King had long ago told the French Ambas- 
sador that he was determined to exterminate the White 
Rose, and, as Castillon remarked, no pretext was too 
flimsy to bring men to the block. On the 9th of 
December, Exeter, Montague, and Nevill, all died on 
the scaffold, and Castillon wrote to King Francis: 
" No one knows who will be the next to go." Terror 
reigned throughout the land, and no one of noble birth 
was safe .2 Mary of Hungary might well shudder at 
the thought of giving her niece to such a man. But 
eviery day her position became more difficult. Soon 
after her return from Compiegne she wrote to Charles, 
urgently begging for instructions as to how she was 
to proceed with the English Ambassadors. If the 
King persists in treating of the Duchess's marriage, 
is she to consent or to refuse altogether ? And if 
so, on what pretext ? Is she to discuss the question 
of the Papal dispensation, which Henry will never 

^ Calendar of State Papers, xiii. 2, 289. 
2 Ibid., xiii. 2, 291, 296. 



Jan., 1539] MARY'S APPEAL 187 

consent to receive from the Pope, but without which 
the Emperor cannot possibly allow the union. ^ In 
reply to this letter, Charles wrote from Toledo, on the 
5th of December, telling her to temporize with the 
English, and to consult her Council on the best 
method of procedure.^ 

A carefully-worded paper, in Mary's own hand- 
writing, setting forth the results of the deliberation 
with the Council in clear and concise language, was 
forwarded to the Emperor early in January: 

" If the King of England would seriously mend his 
ways and proceed to conclude the marriage in earnest, 
not merely to sow dissension between His Majesty 
and the King of France, this would no doubt be the 
most honourable alliance for the Duchess and the 
most advantageous for the Low Countries; but there 
is no evidence of this — rather the reverse, as your 
Ambassador in France tells us, from what he hears of 
the conversations held by King Henry with the French 
Envoy in London. The Queen considers this point to 
be entirely settled, and it remains only to know Your 
Majesty's wishes. Are we to dissemble with the 
English as we have done till now, which, however, 
is very difficult, or are we to break off negotiations 
altogether ? This can best be done by putting for- 
ward quite reasonable terms, but which are not agree- 
able to the King. The Queen begs His Majesty to tell 
her exactly what she is to do, remembering that the 
King of England, when he cannot ally himself with 
the Emperor or in France, may seek an alliance with 
Cleves, and will be further alienated from religion, and 
may do much harm by putting himself at the head of 
the German Princes — all of which she prays Your 
Majesty to consider."^ 

But no reply to this appeal came for many weeks. 
In vain Mary implored Charles to put an end to this 

^ Calendar of Spanish State Papers, vi. i, 96. 

2 Lanz, ii. 686. 

3 Papiers d'Etat, 82, 20, Archives du Royaume, Bruxelles. 



i88 THE COURTSHIP OF HENRY VHI. [Bk. VI 

interminable procrastination, and relieve her from the 
necessity of dissembling with the English Ambassa- 
dors, who never left her in peace. 

" Once more, Monseigneur," she wrote at the end 
of January, " I implore you tell me if I am to allow 
these conferences to drag on, for it is impossible to do 
this any longer without the most shameless dissimula- 
tion. "^ 

Still no answer came from Spain, and the solemn 
farce was prolonged. During the next two months 
frequent meetings between the Commissioners were 
held at Brussels, and the Queen herself was often 
present. " Indeed," wrote Wriothesley, " she is one 
and principal in it, and how unmeet we be to match 
with her ourselves do well acknowledge." ^ But little 
progress was made, although Henry, in his anxiety 
for the marriage, offered to give the Duchess as large 
a dowry as any Queen of England had ever enjoyed. 
On St. Thomas's Day he informed the French Ambas- 
sador in the gallery at Whitehall that his marriage 
was almost concluded. 

" All the same," wrote Castillon to the Constable, 
" I know that he would gladly marry Madame de 
Guise had he the chance. If you think the King and 
Emperor would enjoy the sport of seeing him thus 
virolin-virolant , I can easily get it up, provided you 
show his Ambassador a little civility, and make the 
Cardinal and Monsieur de Guise caress him a little."^ 

But two days after this interview Henry addressed 
a pathetic appeal to the Regent on his behalf, saying 
that " old age was fast creeping on, and time was slip- 
ping and flying marvellously away . ' ' Already the whole 
year had been wasted in vain parleyings, and, since 

^ Lanz, ii. 296. ^ state Papers, Record Office, viii. 72. 

^ Calendar of State Papers, xiii. 2, 467, 468. 




MARY, QUEEN OF HUNGARY 
By Bernard van Orley (Cardon Collection) 



To face j>. 1 8 



Jan., 1539] FAIR WORDS 1 89 

neither money nor prayers could redeem this precious 
time, he could wait the Emperor's pleasure no longer, 
but must seek another bride. If this appeal produced 
no effect, he told Wriothesley to take leave of the 
Duchess, and declare to her the great affection which 
the King bore her, and how earnestly he had desired 
to make her his wife, but, since this was plainly impos- 
sible, he must " beg her not to marvel if he joined 
with another."^ When this letter reached Brussels, 
Mary and Christina were absent on a hunting ex- 
pedition, but on New Year's Eve they returned. 
The Queen received Wriothesley the next morning, 
and, after listening patiently to the long discourse 
in which he delivered his master's message, said that 
she was still awaiting the Emperor's final instructions, 
remarking that perhaps the King hardly realized the 
distance between Spain and Flanders. There was 
nothing for it but to await the coming of the courier 
from Spain. But even Wriothesley began to realize 
that, " for all this gentle entertainment and fair words 
and feastings," the deputies meant to effect nothing. 

Like Hutton, the Ambassador felt the spell of 
Christina's charms, and certain expressions which her 
servants Benedetto and Ferrari had dropped, led him 
to suppose that the Duchess was favourably inclined 
towards his master. But he was convinced that 
attempts had been made to poison her mind against 
the King, and to prefer the suit of William of Cleves 
or of Francis of Lorraine, who was also said to be 
seeking her hand. 

" I know," he wrote to Cromwell, " that some of 
these folks labour to avert the Duchess's mind from 
the King's Majesty, and to rest herself either upon 

^ State Papers, Record Office, viii. no, 118, 123. 



I90 THE COURTSHIP OF HENRY VHI. [Bk. vi 

Lorraine or Cleves; but as far as I can learn she is 
wiser than they, and will in no wise hearken to them, 
offering rather to live a widow than to fall from the 
likelihood of being Queen, and to light so low as from 
a mistress to become an underling, as she must if 
she marry either of them, their fathers and mothers 
being yet both alive. What for the virtue that I think 
I see in her, the good nature that every man must 
note her to be of, as well as her good inclination to the 
King's Majesty, I have privily wished myself some- 
times that the King might take her with nothing, 
as she hath somewhat, rather than His Highness 
should, by these cankered tongues, be tromped and 
deceived of his good purpose, and so want such a wife 
as I think she would be to His Grace. For I shall 
ever pray God to send His Majesty such a mate, 
humble, loving, and of such sort as may be for His 
Grace's quiet and content, with the increase of the 
offspring of his most noble person."^ 



VI. 

At length the eagerly - expected courier reached 
Brussels, but, as usual, the Queen and Duchess were 
away hunting, and it was only on the ist of February 
that the Ambassadors obtained their desired audience. 
Mary received them in her bedroom between seven and 
eight in the morning, and told them that the Emperor 
had decided to await the arrival of the Count Palatine, 
who with his wife, the Duchess's elder sister, was 
shortly expected at Toledo, in order that he might 
discuss the subject fully with them; but, since she 
knew Henry to be impatient for an answer, she had 
despatched a trusty messenger, Cornelius Scepperus, to 
Spain to beg her brother for an immediate decision .^ 

Wriothesley now ventured on" a bold step. As the 

1 Calendar of State Papers, xiv. i, 37. 

2 State Papers, Record Of&ce, viii. 139. 



Feb., 1539] AN AWKWARD QUESTION 191 

Queen rose to leave the room, he begged, in order to 
satisfy his own peace of mind, to be allowed to ask 
her one question, hoping that she would give him a 
frank answer. At these words Mary blushed deeply, 
conscious of the double part that she was playing, 
and bade him speak, assuring him that she would take 
whatever he said in good part. " Madame," returned 
Wriothesley, " Ibeseech Your Grace to tell me plainly 
how you find the Duchess herself affected towards 
this marriage with the King my master." If, as was 
commonly reported, the Duchess had really said that 
she minded not to fix her heart that way, all his efforts 
were but lost labour. And he made bold to ask this 
question because he knew that of late " divers malicious 
tongues, servants of the Bishop of Rome, had dared 
to speak lewdly in hugger - mugger of the King's 
Majesty." The question was an awkward one, but 
Mary proved equal to the occasion. She thanked the 
Ambassador for his frankness, and replied with 
some warmth that she was quite sure her niece had 
never spoken such words, and that, if evil men spoke 
lewdly of the King, she would know how to deal 
with them. " Touching my niece's affection," she 
added, " I dare say unto you, that if the Emperor 
and your master the King agree upon this marriage, 
she will be at the Emperor's command." 

Wriothesle}^ could only express his gratitude for 
this gracious answer, even if it were not so plain 
as he could have wished. Seeing that nothing else 
would satisfy him, the Queen referred him to the 
Duchess herself, and at two o'clock the same after- 
noon the Ambassador was conducted to Christina's 
lodgings. He found her standing under a canopy in 
a hall hung with black velvet and damask, with five or 



192 THE COURTSHIP OF HENRY VHI. [Bk.vi 

six ladies near her, and a dozen gentlemen and pages 
at the other end of the room. Christina received him 
with a graceful salute, bade him heartily welcome, 
and asked the purpose of his errand. Wriothesley 
proceeded to explain the object of his visit at great 
length, saying that he was quite sure that a lady of 
her gravity and discretion would never allow such 
unseemly words to pass her lips; yet, since untrue 
and wicked reports might have reached her ears and 
cooled her inclination towards the King, he felt it 
would be his bounden duty, were this true, to inform 
His Majesty, in order that he might withdraw his 
suit without further waste of time and dishonour. 

Christina listened to this long harangue without 
moving a muscle. When the Ambassador had ended, 
she desired him to put on his cap, saying it was a 
cold day, and that she regretted not to have noticed 
that he was uncovered before. Wriothesley replied 
that this was his duty, and that he hoped often to 
have the honour of talking with her bareheaded in 
the future. Without paying any heed to this last 
remark, Christina replied in the following words: 

" Monsieur I'Ambassadeur, I do heartily thank you 
for your good opinion of me, wherein I can assure you, 
you have not been deceived. I thank God He hath 
given me a better stay of myself, than to be of so 
light a sort as, by all likelihood, some men would 
note me. And I assure you that neither these words 
that you have spoken, nor any like to them, have 
passed at any time from my mouth, and so I pray 
you report for me." 

But grateful as Wriothesley expressed himself for 
this frank answer, he was not yet satisfied. " It is 
an evil wind, as we say in England, that bloweth 



Feb., 1539] CHRISTINA'S ANSWER 193 

no man good," and at least the Duchess would see 
by this, how httle faith was to be placed in idle tales. 
" There are those," he said mysteriously, " who play 
on both hands; they tell Your Excellency many 
things, and us somewhat." But would she go farther, 
and tell him if he might assure the King his master 
of her own good inclination towards the marriage ? 
At these words Christina blushed exceedingly, and 
said with some hesitation: " As for my inclination, 
what should I say ? You know I am at the Emperor's 
commandment." And when the Ambassador pressed 
her to be a little plainer, she smiled and repeated: 
" You know I am the Emperor's poor servant, and 
must follow his pleasure !" 

" Marry !" exclaimed Wriothesley; " why, then I 
may hope to be one of the first Englishmen to be 
acquainted with my new mistress. Oh, madame, 
how happy shall you be if you are matched with my 
master — the most gentle gentleman that liveth, his 
nature so benign and pleasant that I think no man 
hath heard many angry words pass his mouth. As 
God shall help me, if he were no King, instead of one 
of the most puissant Princes of Christendom, I think, 
if you saw him, you would say that for his virtues, 
gentleness, wisdom, experience, goodliness of person, 
and all other gifts and qualities, he were worthy to 
be made a King. I know Your Grace to be of goodly 
parentage, and to have many great Princesses in 
your family, but if God send this to a good conclusion, 
you shall be of all the rest the most happy !" 

This fulsome panegyric was too much for Christina's 
gravity. She listened for some time, like one that 
was tickled, then smiled, and almost burst out laugh- 
ing, but restrained her merriment with much diffi.- 



194 THE COURTSHIP OF HENRY VIH. [Bk. vi 

culty, and, quickly recovering herself, said gravely 
that she knew His Majesty was a good and noble 
Prince. " Yes, madame," replied the Ambassador, 
with enthusiasm, " and you shall know this better 
hereafter. And for my part, I would be content, if 
only I may live to see the day of your coronation, to 
say with Simeon, " Nunc dimittis servum tuum, 
Domine." And he dwelt with fervour on the wish 
of the English to have her for their Queen, and on 
the admiration and love which the fame of her beauty 
and goodness had excited in the King. Christina 
bowed her thanks, saying that she was much bounden to 
His Majesty for his good opinion, and then, calling her 
Grand Master, bade him escort the Ambassador home. 

" Your Majesty," wrote Wriothesley to the King 
that evening, " shall easily judge from this of what 
inclination the women be, and especially the Duchess, 
whose honest countenance, with the few words that 
she wisely spoke, make me to think there can be no 
doubt in her. A bhnd man should judge no colours, 
but surely. Sir, after my poor understanding and the 
little experience that I have, she is marvellous wise, 
very gentle, and as shamefaced as ever I saw so witty 
a woman. I think her wisdom is no less than the 
Queen's, which, in my poor opinion, is notable for 
a woman, and I am deceived if she prove not a good 
wife. And somewhat the better I like her for that 
I have been informed that, of all the whole stock of 
them, her mother was of the best opinion in religion, 
and showed it so far that both the Emperor and all the 
pack of them were sore grieved with her, and seemed in 
the end to hold her in contempt. I would hope no less 
of the daughter, if she might be so happy as to nestle in 
England. Very pure, fair of colour she is not, but a 
marvellous good brownish face she hath, with fair red 
lips and ruddy cheeks. And unless I be deceived in 
my judgment, she was never so well painted but her 
living visage doth much excel her picture."^ 

^ State Papers, Record Of&ce, viii. 140-148. 



Feb., 1539] WORTHY TO BE A QyEEN 195 

Two things, Wriothesley told Cromwell, in a letter 
which he wrote to him the next day, were plain : 
the Queen would be very loth to let them go with 
nothing settled, and the Duchess was well inclined, 
considering that nothing had as yet been said to her 
on the King's behalf. And he suggested that he might 
be allowed to show her a portrait of Henry, the sight of 
which, he felt sure, would make her die a maid rather 
than marry anyone else. " The woman is certainly 
worthy to be a Queen," he adds, " and in my 
judgment is worth more than all the friendship and 
alliances in the world." ^ 

Unfortunately, these letters, which the writer 
hoped would give the King so much pleasure, found 
Henry in a furious temper. In January, 1539, Pope 
Paul in. issued the long-delayed Bull of excommu- 
nication, and called on the Emperor and the French 
King to declare war on the heretic monarch, and for- 
bid all intercourse between their subjects and the 
misguided English. Cardinal Pole, whose kinsmen 
Henry had beheaded, and whose own life had been 
attempted by his emissaries, was sent to Spain to 
induce Charles to take up arms against " this abom- 
inable tyrant and cruel persecutor of the Church of 
God."^ At the same moment a treaty was signed 
between Charles and Francis at Toledo, by which 
the two monarchs pledged themselves to conclude 
no agreements with Henry excepting by mutual 
consent.^ 

Henry now became seriously alarmed. He com- 
plained bitterly to Castillon of the way in which he 

^ Calendar of State Papers, xjv. i, 93, 121. 

2 Ibid., xiv. I, 14; Calendar of Spanish State Papers, vi. i, 97. 

3 Ibid., xiv. I, 26. 



196 THE COURTSHIP OF HENRY VIII. [Bk.vI 

was reviled in France, not only by the vulgar, but 
by the Cardinal of Paris and members of the Council. 
And he sent Cromwell to Chapuys with an imperative 
summons to come to Court without delay. The 
Imperial Ambassador obeyed, and came to Whitehall 
on the Feast of the Three Kings. Henry was on his 
way to Mass, but he stopped to greet Chapuys, and 
complained once more of the Queen of Hungary's 
interminable delays and of the scandalous treat- 
ment of his Ambassadors. Chapuys made the best 
excuses which came into his mind, and assured the 
King that Mary was only awaiting the Emperor's 
instructions as to the Papal dispensation, and that he 
would hear from Spain as soon as the Palatine 
had reached Toledo. To this Henry vouchsafed no 
answer, but walked straight on, to the door of the 
chapel. 

During Mass Cromwell entered into conversation 
with Chapuys, and told him that the Pope had thrown 
off the hypocrite's mask, and was doing his best to 
kindle a flame in Italy. Before the Ambassador 
could reply he changed the subject, and said he saw 
clearly that the Emperor intended to marry his niece 
to Cleves or Lorraine. Chapuys laughed, and re- 
marked that the Duchess could hardly be given to 
both Princes, but added in all seriousness that his 
master knew the difference between the King of 
England and these suitors. After dinner Henry 
seemed in a better temper, but told Chapuys in con- 
fidential tones that he was growing old, and that 
his subjects pressed him to hasten his marriage, and 
that these vexatious delays were all due to the French, 
who boasted that the Emperor could do nothing 
without their consent. 



Feb., 1539] A COLD FROST, i97 

" He seemed in great trouble," reported Chapuys, 
" and it is plain, as everyone about him tells me, that 
he is very much in love with the Duchess of Milan. 
He told one of his most intimate friends the other 
day that he would gladly take her without a penny. 
. . . And just now the French Ambassador asked me 
if it were true that he had sent her a diamond worth 
16,000 ducats."^ 

At the same time Chapuys heard that Henry was 
negotiating with the German Princes, and offering 
his daughter Mary to the young Duke of Cleves, in 
order to prevent him from marrying the Duchess. 
" He is so much in love," wrote Castillon, " that for 
one gracious word from her I believe he would go to 
war to recover Denmark."^ 

The same week Henry wrote to Wyatt, complain- 
ing bitterly of the treatment which he had received 
from his imperial brother, as being wholly unworthy 
of a Prince who professed to be his zealous friend. 
** After so hot a summer we saw never so cold a 
winter; after all these professions of love and friend- 
ship, in the end nothing but a cold frost." He ended 
by declaring he would no longer be kept " hanging in 
the balance," and must have an immediate answer, 
even if it were a flat denial.^ At length even Charles 
could procrastinate no longer, and on the 15th of 
February he told Wyatt that it was impossible for 
the marriage to take place without the Pope's 
dispensation, as the King's dispensation would never 
satisfy the Duchess herself, or any of her relations, 
and might cause endless inconvenience if children 
were born of the union. "All the stay," wrote 
Cromwell to Wriothesley, " is upon the dispensation, 

^ Calendar of State Papers, xiv. i, 16-19. 
2 Ihid., xiv. I, 52; Lanz, ii. 297-306. ^ Nott, ii. 306. 

14 



198 THE COURTSHIP OF HENRY VHI. [Bk. VI 

to which they object now, but whereof they never 
spake before."^ 

Even before the courier from Spain arrived, Henry's 
face was so black that Castillon wrote home begging 
to be recalled, and declaring that this King was the 
most cruel and dangerous man in the world. He was 
in such a rage that he had neither reason nor under- 
standing left, and once he found out that Francis 
could do nothing for him, Castillon was convinced 
that his own life would not be worth a straw. A few 
days later the Ambassador left London, and rejoiced 
to find himself safely back in France .^ 



VII. 

While London was full of alarms, Wriothesley and 
his colleagues were spending a gay Shrovetide at 
Brussels, all unconscious of the clouds that were 
darkening the horizon. During the last few weeks 
nobles and courtiers had vied with each other in 
paying them attentions. Visitors of the highest rank 
honoured their humble lodgings. Madame de Ber- 
ghen, Aerschot's lively sister — " a dame of stomach 
that hath a jolly tongue " — dined with them. The 
Queen herself was expected to pay them a visit, 
and great preparations in the way of plate and furni- 
ture were made for her reception. Count Biiren, 
a very great man in Holland, was particularly 
friendly, and impressed Wriothesley so much by his 
honesty and loyalty that he gave him the best horse 
in his stables . Another day he entertained the Captain 
of Gravelines, who railed against the abominations of 

* Calendar of Spanish State Papers, vi. i, 145. 
2 Kaulek, 84. 



Feb., 1539] A GAY CARNIVAL 199 

Rome to his heart's content, and told him it would be 
the Pope's fault if the King's marriage were not con- 
cluded. Carnival week brought a round of festivities. 
On Monday, the 1 7th of February, the Ambassadors 
were invited to meet the Queen at supper at the Duke 
of Aerschot's house, and were received at half-past five 
by the Duchess and her sister-in-law, Madame de 
Berghen. The Duchess sent for her young daughter 
and her two sons — boys of ten and twelve — and 
presently they were joined by Monsieur de V61y, the 
new French Ambassador. Wriothesley expressed great 
pleasure at meeting him, saying that, since their 
masters were good friends, they ought not to be 
strangers, and received a cordial reply. The rest of 
the company looked on with some surprise at these 
friendly fashions, a rumour being abroad that the 
French King was about to attack England and force 
Henry to submit to the Pope. Then a flourish of 
trumpets, sackbuts, and fifes, was heard at the gates, 
and the guests rose as the Queen and Duchess entered 
the hall. At supper the French Ambassador sat on 
the Queen's right, and Wriothesley on her left, while 
Christina was between him and Vaughan. Madame 
d'Egmont sat next to Dr. Carne, and the Prince of 
Orange was on the Duchess of Aerschot's right hand. 
Mary made herself very agreeable to both her neigh- 
bours, and when, after supper, her chapel choir 
sang roundelays and merry drinking-songs, she asked 
Wriothesley if he were fond of music, and invited 
him to sup with her on the morrow and hear her 
minstrels. The Ambassador confessed that he was 
very fond of music, and often had some at his poor 
home to cheer his dull spirits. " Well, it is an honest 
pastime," said the Queen, " and maketh good diges- 



200 THE COURTSHIP OF HENRY VHI. [Bk. vi 

tion, for it driveth thoughts away." Here Wriothes- 
ley ventured to remark that he would feel merrier 
if he had not wasted so much time here, and asked 
if there was still no news from Spain. " None," 
replied the Queen; and Wriothesley observed that 
reports reached him from Germany that the Emperor 
was merely trying to gain time, and meant to do 
the Bishop of Rome's bidding. " Jesus !" exclaimed 
the Queen, " I dare say the Emperor never meant 
such a thing;" upon which Wriothesley hastened to 
say that he felt sure the Emperor was too wise and 
honourable a Prince to deceive the King, but now 
that he had made friends with his old enemy, he 
hoped he would not make a new enemy of his old 
friend. After supper the Duke and several ladies 
came in, wearing masks and rich costumes, and threw 
dice with the Queen and her niece for some fine dia- 
monds, which the Princesses won. Then the Prince 
of Orange led out Christina to dance, and the other 
youthful guests followed suit, while Wriothesley sat 
at the Queen's side on the dais and watched the 
princely pair. 

The next evening (Shrove Tuesday) Wriothesley 
and his colleagues dined at the palace, and this time 
the English Ambassador sat in the post of honour, 
on the Queen's right, with the Duchess on his left. 
Mary was in high spirits, toasted her guests and 
drank with each of them in turn. After supper 
Wriothesley approached Christina, and ventured to 
tell her that she would be happy if her best friends 
did not put hindrances in her way, and begged her 
not to lend ear to malicious reports of his master. 
The Duchess shook her head, saying she would listen 
to no calumnies, and always hold the King to be a 



Feb., 1539] AN UNPLEASANT SURPRISE 201 

noble Prince. But he felt sure that she was afraid 
of the Queen, and told her he hoped to converse more 
freely with her another time. Never had he seen 
her look so beautiful as she did that night; never did 
he wish more ardently to see her his master's bride. 
" For indeed it were pity," he wrote home, " if she 
were bestowed on a husband she did not like, only to 
serve others." 

There was one Prince at table for whom, it was easy 
to see, Christina had no dislike. This was Rene of 
Orange, who had an opportunity of distinguishing 
himself in his lady's eyes that evening. The Queen 
led the way into the great hall, where first Aerschot 
and three other nobles challenged all comers to fight, 
and then the Prince of Orange and Floris d'Egmont 
took their places at the barriers, and broke lances 
and received prizes for their valour, while the Queen's 
band of lutes, viols, and rebecks, played the finest 
music that Wriothesley had ever heard. When the 
jousting was ended, Mary led her guests to the royal 
gallery, where another banquet was served, and there 
was much lively discourse, and more talking than 
eating. So that gay Carnival came to a close, and 
with it the last hope of winning the fair Duchess's 
hand.^ 

An unpleasant surprise was in store for Wriothes- 
ley the next morning. Certain disquieting rumours 
having reached Brussels, Vaughan went to Ant- 
werp on Ash Wednesday, and found great consterna- 
tion among the English merchants. A proclamation 
had been issued forbidding any ships to leave the 
port, and several English vessels laden with merchan- 
dise had been detained. The wildest rumours were 

^ Calendar of State Papers, xiv. i, 125, 126 



202 THE COURTSHIP OF HENRY VHI. [Bk. VI 

current on the Exchange. It was commonly said 
that the Emperor, with the Kings of France and 
Scotland, had declared war on King Henry, and that 
a large Dutch and Spanish fleet was about to sail 
for England. Already in Brussels gallants and pike- 
men were taking bets on the issue of the war, and 
Wriothesley wrote to Cromwell that he and his 
colleagues " might peradventure broil on a faggot." 
He was unable to obtain an audience until Friday, 
when the Queen told him that, by the Emperor's 
orders, she was recalling Chapuys to conduct the 
marriage negotiations. This unexpected intimation, 
coming as it did after the startling news from Ant- 
werp, disconcerted him considerably. He sent an 
express to London, and received orders to take his 
departure at once. Castillon was already on his way 
to France, but Henry quite refused to let Chapuys 
go until Wriothesley and Vaughan had left Brussels. 
A long wrangle between the two Courts followed. 
The Ambassadors were detained on both sides. The 
Spanish and Dutch ships in English harbours were 
stopped, all ports were closed, and active prepara- 
tions were made for war along the shores of the 
Channel. 

" After fair weather," wrote Cromwell to Wriothes- 
ley, " there is succeeded a weather very cloudy. 
Good words, good countenance, be turned, we per- 
ceive, to a wonderful strangeness. But let that pass. 
They can do us no harm but to their own detriment."^ 

The situation of the Ambassadors was by no means 
pleasant. A marked change was visible in the be- 
haviour of the Court. They were " treated as very 
strangers " by those nobles who had been their best 

1 State Papers, Record Of&ce, viii. 155. 



March, 1539] STRANGE ENTERTAINMENT 203 

friends. No one called at their house or came to 
dine with them. The Duchess's servants, who used 
to go to and fro constantly, now dared not come 
except at dusk — " in the owl-flight " — and would not 
allow Wriothesley to send them home by torchlight. 
Wherever they went, the English heard their King 
slandered, and met with cold looks and scornful 
words. Worse than all, they were forced to pay 
excise duties — " eighteen pence on every barrel of beer 
above the price asked by the brewer " — an indignity 
to which no Ambassador before had ever been 
exposed. " I write in haste and live in misery," 
wrote Wriothesley to Cromwell on the 7th of March .^ 
The Emperor, however, was still friendly. His 
heart was set on a Crusade against the Turk, and he 
had no wish to embark on war with England. Pole 
met with a cold reception at Toledo, and, finding 
Charles averse to executing the Pope's sentence, 
retired to his friend Sadoleto's house at Carpentras. 
This was a relief to Henry, and he bade Wyatt thank 
his imperial brother, but could not forbear pointing 
out that these friendly words agreed ill with the 
doings of his officers in the Low Countries. A 
despatch addressed to Wyatt on the loth of March 
contains a long recital of the extraordinary treatment 
which his Ambassadors at Brussels had met with : 

" Since Lent began, as for a penance, their enter- 
tainment hath been marvellous strange — ^yea, and 
stranger than we will rehearse : strangeness in having 
audience with long delay, strangeness in answer and 
fashion. Also they have been constrained to pay 
Excise, which no Ambassador of England paid in any 
man's remembrance. They have complained to the 
Queen, but nevertheless must pay or lack drink. . . . 

^ State Papers, Record Of&ce, viii. 166, 175. 



204 THE COURTSHIP OF HENRY VIII. [Bk.VI 

These rumours and hints of war, the arrest of our 
ships, this strangeness shown to our Ministers, this 
navy and army in readiness, the recall of Chapuys, 
ran abroad this realm and everywhere. We do not 
write to you the rumours half so spiteful, and the 
entertainment half so strange, as it hath been. I 
think never such a thing was heard, and especially 
after a treaty of marriage such a banquet !"^ 

Henry concluded this letter by saying that, since 
the Emperor insisted on the need of Papal dispensa- 
tion, there could be no further question of any 
marriage between him and the Duchess, and he 
would be now at liberty to seek another wife. On 
the same day he wrote to Carne, who had been secretly 
corresponding with the Duke of Cleves, telling him 
to open negotiations for a marriage with that Prince's 
sister, the Lady Anne.^ 

Twelve days after this despatch was sent to Spain 
Wriothesley left Brussels. At Calais he met Chapuys, 
who had just crossed the Channel, and Mary's 
almoner, the Dean of Cambray, who was being sent 
to take the Ambassador's place, and was await- 
ing a fair wind to embark for Dover. All three 
Ambassadors dined in a friendly manner with Lord 
Lisle, the Deputy Governor of Calais, and continued 
their respective journeys without hindrance. But 
the much-discussed marriage treaty was at an end. 
The long-drawn comedy had reached its last act. 
" All hope of the Duchess," wrote Wriothesley to 
Cromwell, " is utterly past." 

The rupture was loudly lamented by the English 
merchants in Antwerp, and keen disappointment was 
felt throughout England, where the marriage had 

1 Nott, " Life of V^yatt,'- ii. 511. 

2 Calendar of State Papers, xiv. i, 189, igi. 



Aug., 1539] A WELSHMAN'S OPINION 205 

always been popular. Among many scattered notices 
of the feeling which prevailed on the subject, the 
following incident is of especial interest, because of 
the sidelight which it throws on Christina's personal 
reluctance to the marriage. 

On a summer evening in August, i 539, five months 
after Wriothesley left Brussels, a married priest 
named George Constantyne, of Llan Hawaden in 
South Wales, rode from Chepstow to Abergavenny 
with John Barlow, Dean of Westbury. The priest 
had got into trouble in Wolsey's time, for buying 
copies of Tyndale's New Testament, and was forced 
to fly the country and practise as a physician for 
several years in the Netherlands. Now he had re- 
turned to England, and was on his way to his old 
home in Wales. He walked from Bristol to Westbury, 
where he supped with Dean Barlow, a brother of his 
friend the Bishop of St. Davids, who made him heartily 
welcome, and invited him to be his travelling com- 
panion the next day to Pembrokeshire. As the 
two ecclesiastics rode through the green valleys on 
the way to Abergavenny, the Dean asked Constantyne 
if he could tell him why the King's marriage had 
been so long delayed. The priest replied that he, 
for his part, was very sorry the King should still be 
without a wife, when he might by this time have been 
the father of fair children. As the Dean knew, both 
the Duchess of Milan and she of Cleves were spoken of, 
and now the little doctor, Nicholas Wotton, had been 
sent to Cleves with Mr. Beard, of the Privy Chamber, 
and the King's painter; so there was good hope of a 
marriage being concluded with the Duke of Cleves, 
who favoured God's word, and was a mighty Prince 
now, holding Guelderland against the Emperor's will 



2o6 THE COURTSHIP OF HENRY VHI. [Bk.vi 

But why, asked the Dean, was the marriage with the 
Duchess of Milan broken off ? Constantyne, who 
was famihar with all the gossip of the Regent's Court, 
replied that the Duchess quite refused to marry the 
King, unless he would accept the Bishop of Rome's 
dispensation, and give pledges that her life would be 
safe and her honour respected. " Why pledges ?" 
asked the Dean innocently. " Marry !" returned 
Constantyne, " she sayeth that, since the King's 
Majesty was in so little space rid of three Queens, she 
dare not trust his Council, even if she dare trust His 
Majesty. For in Flanders the nobles suspect that 
her great -aunt. Queen Catherine, was poisoned, 
that Anne Boleyn was innocent of the crimes for 
which she was put to death, and that the third wife, 
Queen Jane, was lost for lack of attention in child- 
bed." Such, at least, were the mutterings which 
he heard at Court before Whitsuntide. The Dean 
remarked that he was afraid the affair of Milan must 
be dashed, as Dr. Petre, who was to have gone to 
fetch the royal bride from Calais, was at the Court of 
St. James's last Sunday ; upon which Constantyne gave 
it as his opinion that there could be no amity between 
the King and the Emperor, whose god was the Pope. 
So the two men talked as they rode over the 
Welsh hills on the pleasant summer evening. But 
the poor priest had good reason to regret that he had 
ever taken this ride; for his false friend the Dean 
reported him as a Sacramentary to the Lord Privy 
Seal, and a few days after he reached Llan Hawaden 
he was arrested and thrown into the Tower, where he 
spent several months in prison as a penalty for his 
freedom of speech.^ 

^ " Arcliaeologia Cambrensis, " xxiii. 139-141. 



BOOK VII 

CLEVES, ORANGE, AND LORRAINE 
1539— 1541 

I. 

The negotiations for the King of England's marriage 
with the Duchess of Milan were broken off. But 
there was no lack of suitors for Christina's hand. 
During the winter and spring of 1539 the Emperor's 
niece received offers of marriage from three princely 
bridegrooms. The first of these was Antoine, Duke 
of Vendome, whose courtship of the Duchess on the 
journey to Compiegne had aroused King Henry's 
jealousy. The second was William of Cleves, who 
since the old Duke Charles's death had taken posses- 
sion of Guelders, and was now seeking to obtain the 
investiture of the duchy, together with Christina's 
hand. The third was Francis, the Marquis of Pont- 
a-Mousson, and heir of Lorraine. From the day that 
this Prince first met the Duchess at Compiegne, he 
sought her for his bride with a constancy and stead- 
fastness that were eventually to be crowned with 
success. But for the moment the Duke of Cleves 
seemed to have the best chance of winning the coveted 
prize. From the first Mary of Hungary had regarded 
this alliance with favour, and when, in January, 1539, 
she consulted her Councillors on the Duchess's mar- 

207 



2o8 CLEVES, ORANGE, LORRAINE [Bk. vii 

riage, it was this union which met with their highest 
approval. 

" Duke William," wrote the Queen in her reply to 
the Emperor, " has greatly offended Your Majesty, 
both as a private individual and sovereign lord, by 
taking possession of Guelders. Still, as he renews his 
suit and professes to be your loyal friend and servant, 
it would be well to treat with him and offer him the 
Duchess's hand, on condition that he will give up 
Guelderland."^ 

The alternative proposal, she proceeded to say, 
deserved consideration, seeing the great anxiety 
which the Duke of Lorraine's son showed for the 
marriage. No doubt the Emperor's niece, with her 
large dowry, would be a very honourable match for 
him, and well worth the surrender of his rights on 
Guelders; but, since it was most desirable to recover 
this duchy without delay, it might be well to secure 
the help of Lorraine by this means. 

The situation was a difficult one, and from the 
moment of the old Duke's death in June, 1538, Mary 
had never ceased to entreat Charles to come to 
Flanders and take active measures for the recovery of 
Guelders before it was too late. Throughout the 
winter Duke William went from town to town, en- 
dearing himself to his new subjects; and when the 
deputies of Lorraine asserted their master's superior 
claims, he told them that he would never give up 
Guelders to any mortal man. By the death of his 
father on the 6th of February, 1539, he succeeded to 
the rich provinces of Cleves and Jiilich, and became 
the wealthiest and most powerful Prince in North 
Germany.^ 

^ Papiers d'Etat, 82, 20, Archives du Royaume, Bruxelles. 
2 Lanz, ii. 297; Calendar of State Papers, xiii. 2, 16. 



March, 1539] ANNE OF CLEVE,S 209 

Still Charles put off his coming, and told his sister 
that he was bent on undertaking a second Crusade 
against the Turks, and could not spare the time for 
a journey to Flanders. This was too much for Mary's 
equanimity, and she protested in the strongest language 
against the Emperor's folly in exposing his person to 
such risks, declaring that this Crusade would not only 
prove the utter ruin of the Netherlands, but of all 
Christendom.^ Fortunately, Mary's remonstrances 
were supported by the Emperor's wisest Councillors, 
and, in deference to their representations, he decided 
to abandon his Crusade for the present and come to 
Flanders. This decision was confirmed by the dis- 
content which the Duke of Cleves's intrigues helped to 
foment in Ghent — always a turbulent city — as well 
as by the news that the King of England had entered 
into a close alliance with Cleves, and was about to 
marry his sister. 

Cromwell, with his habitual duplicity, had been in 
correspondence with the German Princes while he 
professed to be zealous for the Emperor's alliance; 
and in March Christopher Mont, his Envoy to Frank- 
fort, was desired to make diligent inquiries as to the 
shape, stature, and complexion, of the Duke of Cleves's 
sister Anne. If these were satisfactory, he was to 
suggest that proposals of marriage should be made 
by that Prince and his brother-in-law, the Elector 
John Frederick of Saxony. Mont sent glowing de- 
scriptions of the lady's beauty, and was bold enough 
to declare that she excelled the Duchess of Milan as 
much as the golden sun excels the silver moon.^ 

^ Lanz, ii. 289, 683. 

2 State Papers, Record Office, Henry VIII., i. 605; Calendar 
of State Papers, xiv. i, 192. 



2IO CLEVES, ORANGE, LORRAINE [Bk.vii 

Henry was now all on fire to see the Lady Anne, 
although he had not yet lost all interest in Christina, 
whose name still figures constantly in letters from 
Brussels. On the 6th of April we hear that the 
Duchess of Milan is sick of fever, and ten days later 
Cromwell writes to the King that Her Grace is no 
longer sick, and that " at Antwerp the people still 
cherish a hope that Your Highness will yet marry 
her."^ If he could not make her his wife, the King 
was determined to prevent another suitor from suc- 
ceeding where he had failed, and renewed his offer of 
his daughter Mary with a large dowry to the Duke of 
Cleves. William, however, showed no alacrity to avail 
himself of this offer, and sent Envoys both to Brussels 
and Toledo to press his suit for Christina's hand. 

The sudden death of the Empress at Toledo on the 
ist of May altered all Charles's plans. A few weeks 
before this Isabella had given birth to a son, who 
only lived a few hours, and Charles had written to 
inform his sister of the infant's death. On the 2nd of 
May he wrote a few touching lines with his own hand 
to tell Mary the grievous news. The doctors had 
pronounced her to be out of danger, but catarrh 
attacked the lungs, and proved fatal in a few hours. 

" I am overwhelmed with sorrow and distress, and 
nothing can comfort me but the thought of her good 
and holy life and the devout end which she made. 
I leave you to tell my subjects over yonder, of this 
pitiful event, and ask them to pray for her soul. I 
will do my best to bow to the will of God, whom I 
implore to receive her in His blessed paradise, where 
I feel certain that she is. And may God keep you, 
my dear sister, and grant you all your desires. "^ 

^ Calendar of State Papers, xiv. i, 348, 374. 
2 See Appendix; Papiers d'Etat, 82, 26, Archives du Royaume, 
BruxeUes. 



May, 1539] THE PALATINE'S TRAVELS 211 

When this sad event took place, Christina's sister 
Dorothea and her husband, Count Frederic, were 
staying at the Imperial Court. These adventurous 
travellers had come to Spain in the vain hope of induc- 
ing the Emperor to support their claims on Denmark, 
and, after crossing the Pyrenees in rain and snow, had 
at length reached Toledo, where they were hospitably 
entertained. The Empress treated Dorothea with 
great affection, but Frederic's German servants, who 
consumed five meals a day and ate meat on Ash 
Wednesday, shocked the Spanish courtiers, and drew 
down the censures of the Inquisition upon them. 
Even the Emperor asked his cousin why he brought 
so numerous a suite on his travels; but, although he 
would make no promises of further help, he good- 
naturedly paid Frederic's expenses at Toledo, and 
gave him a present of 7,000 crowns. The death of 
the Empress, Dorothea's best friend, put an end to all 
hope of further assistance. The Emperor shut him- 
self up in a Carthusian convent, and the Palatine and 
his wife started for the Low Countries.^ On their 
way through France they were royally entertained 
by the King and Queen in the splendid Palais des 
Tournelles, and Francis took so great a fancy to his 
wife's niece that Eleanor felt it wise to keep Dorothea 
continually at her side. Here they were detained some 
time by Frederic's illness, and after his recovery spent 
several days at Chantilly with the Constable, and at 
the King's fine new villa of Cotterets, on their way to 
the Netherlands .2 

Here the travellers were eagerly awaited by Chris- 

^ Hubert Thomas, 376-390; Cust, "Gentlemen Errant," 377- 

379- 

2 " Zimmerische Chronik," ii. 547. 



212 CLEVES, ORANGE, LORRAINE [Bk. vil 

tina and her aunt. After the funeral services for 
the repose of the Empress's soul had been duly cele- 
brated, and the last requiem sung in S. Gudule, the 
Queen set out on a progress through Holland and 
Friesland, and spent some time at Bois-le-Duc, on the 
frontiers of Guelders, trying to arrange matters with 
the Duke of Cleves. But, although friendly letters 
and messages were exchanged, nothing could be 
settled until the Emperor's arrival, which was now 
delayed till the autumn, and the Court moved to the 
Hague for August. Here the Queen received news 
that the Count Palatine and his wife had reached 
Dordrecht and were coming by sea to Holland. 
Christina at once travelled to Rotterdam, intending 
to go by boat to meet the travellers. But the 
weather was rough and stormj^ and the sailors were 
reluctant to set out. The Duchess, however, would 
hear of no delay, and, embarking in a small boat, 
bade the sailors put out to sea. Hardly had they left 
the shore before a terrific gale sprang up, and from 
the deck of their ship the Palatine and his wife saw 
a barque tossed on the raging seas, sending up signals 
of distress. Altering their course, they hastened to 
the rescue, and found, to their great surprise, that 
the Duchess of Milan was on board. Count Frederic 
scolded his sister-in-law soundly for her rashness, but 
Dorothea was enchanted to see Christina, and laughed 
and cried by turn as she embraced her.^ The Queen 
awaited the travellers no less eagerly, in her anxiety 
to hear the latest news from Spain, and agreed readily 
to Frederic's proposal that his wife should remain at 
the Hague while he returned to Germany. Early in 
September the Palatine took leave of his relatives and 
1 H. Thomas, 396. 



Sept., 1539] A MOCK FIGHT 213 

went to Antwerp, saying that he must raise money for 
his journey to Heidelberg. But he kept his true desti- 
nation a secret. During his illness in Paris, Bishop 
Bonner had brought Frederic a letter from Cromwell, 
begging him to come to England, since he was only 
divided from this country by a narrow arm of the 
sea, and His Majesty was very anxious to see him 
again. All immediate alarm of war had died away, 
and the irascible monarch's anger was allayed by the 
arrival of a new French Ambassador in the person of 
Marillac, and by the permission which Mary gave him 
to buy ammunition in the Low Countries. In return, 
he ordered an imposing requiem to be held in St. 
Paul's for the late Empress, and desired Cromwell 
and the Dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk, with twenty 
Bishops, to attend the service.^ He resumed his old 
habit of spending the summer evenings on the river, 
enjoying the music of flutes and harps, and sent to 
France and Italy for excellent painters and musicians 
— a sure sign, Marillac was told, that he was about 
to marry again. Another fete, at which the Ambas- 
sador declined to be present, was a mock-fight on the 
Thames between two galleys, one of which bore the 
King's arms, while the other was decorated with an 
effigy of the Pope with the triple tiara and keys, 
attended by the Cardinals. The show ended in the 
triumph of the English sailors, who threw the Pope 
and Cardinals into the river — " the whole thing," 
according to Marillac, " being as badly represented 
as it was poorly conceived."^ 

Now the King was anxious to hear the Emperor's 
intention from the Palatine's own lips, while Frederic 
on his part was flattered by this powerful monarch's 
^ Kaulek, 104. 2 /ji^'^,^ 105. 

15 



214 CLEVES, ORANGE, LORRAINE [Bk.vii 

invitation, and felt that his assistance might prove 
of use in his visionary schemes for the recovery of 
Denmark. But, knowing that of late relations be- 
tween Henry and the Queen had been strained, he 
kept his counsel, and told no one but his wife that he 
was bound for Calais. 

Here he was courteous^ entertained by Lord Lisle, 
an illegitimate son of Edward IV., and escorted by 
him to Canterbury and London. Frederic was lost 
in admiration at the rows of stately palaces along the 
Thames, and the fine Castle of Richmond, but was 
disappointed, when he visited Westminster Abbey, 
not to see the famous antlers of the stag which King 
Dagobert caught, and which wore a golden collar 
inscribed with the words, " Julius Caesar let me go 
free." Afterwards he learnt that these legendary 
trophies had lately been removed by the King's 
orders, for fear the monks, whom he was about to 
expel, might conceal them. 

In the absence of the King at Ampthill, Cromwell, 
who had been told to " grope out the reason of 
Frederic's coming, entertained the Count splendidly 
at his own house, and showed him the Tower of 
London and the Temple Church. But the Deputy's 
wife. Lady Lisle, who looked on Cromwell with deep 
distrust, begged her husband to beware of the Lord 
Privy Seal's fair words, and was none too well pleased 
to hear that he had partaken of the partridge pasty 
and baked cranes which she had sent from Calais, 
together with her own toothpick for the Palsgrave's 
use, having noticed that her noble guest " used a quill 
to pick his teeth with."^ 

Meanwhile the Palatine's visit to England was 

* Calendar of State Papers, xiv. 2, 61 ; H. Thomas, 393-398. 



Sept., 1539] THE PALATINE AT WINDSOR 215 

exciting much curiosity, and not a little alarm, in some 
quarters. The Pope and the French King feared it 
might lead to a secret covenant between Henry and 
Charles, while in London it was commonly reported 
that Frederic came to renew negotiations for his union 
with the Duchess of Milan, and the Duke of Cleves 
hastily sent Ambassadors to conclude his sister's 
marriage. These Envoys reached Windsor on the 
same day as the Count Palatine, whom Henry invited 
to a banquet there on the 24th of September. When 
he bade the Lord High Admiral escort the Pals- 
grave to Windsor, Southampton, eager to curry 
favour with the King, expressed his opinion that the 
Cleves alliance was preferable to a marriage with a 
French Princess or one of the Emperor's family, 
" albeit the Duchess of Milan was a fair woman and 
well spoken of," and told the King of the resentment 
which his union with the Lady Anne had aroused at 
the Court of Brussels. Henry remained plunged in 
thought for some moments; then a smile broke over 
his face, and he exclaimed: " Have they remembered 
themselves now ? They that would not when they 
might, when they would they shall have nay !"^ 

Nothing was lacking, however, to the splendour of 
the Palatine's reception at Windsor. The Duke of 
Suffolk rode out to meet him beyond Eton Bridge 
with 100 horsemen clad in velvet, and the banquet 
was served on golden dishes in a hall carpeted with 
cloth of gold, to the strains of delicious music from 
the King's famous band. The Cleves Envoys were 
at table, but after dinner the King took the Count 
apart, and conversed with him for over two hours on 

^ State Papers, Record Of&ce, Henry VIII., i. 6i6; Calendar 
of State Papers, xiv. 2, 54. 



2i6 ■ CLEVES, ORANGE, LORRAINE [Bk.vii 

his travels. Frederic took this opportunity of begging 
the King to help him in driving out the usurper of 
Denmark, and releasing his unhappy father-in-law. 
Christian 11.^ Henry listened kindly, and promised 
to consider the matter, but no mention was made of 
Christina. The next day a great hunting-party was 
given in the Palsgrave's honour. A pavilion of green 
laurel boughs was set up in a meadow on the banks 
of the river, and while the King and his guests were 
at dinner the merry note of hunting-horns rang 
through the air, and a stag bounded across the turf, 
followed by the hounds at full cry. Immediately the 
whole party sprang to horse and joined in the chase, 
which lasted for three hours, and ended in the 
slaughter of thirty - four stags. From Windsor 
Frederic went to Hampton Court, and on the 3rd of 
October finally took leave of the King, who gave him 
2,000 crowns as a parting gift. Hubert also received 
a silver cup from the Lord Privy Seal, who begged 
him and his lord to return at Christmas, and surprised 
him by asking if the Palsgrave had any castle to let 
or sell, as it might be convenient for him to secure a 
retreat abroad. The Minister evidently realized the 
precarious nature of his position, and Hubert remem- 
bered his request when he heard of the doom which 
soon afterwards overtook the King's favourite.^ 

In his last interview Henry told the Count that he 
feared it would be impossible for him to join in any 
enterprise against Denmark, as his new allies the 
German Princes were in league with the present King . 
At the same time he informed his good cousin of his 
intended marriage to the Lady Anne of Cleves, a 

^ Calendar of State Papers, xiv. 2, 66, 69, 94, 368. 
2 H. Thomas, 399-401; Kaulek, 136. 



Oct., 1539] THE LADY AN^^E 217 

Princess of suitable age and elegant stature, and 
begged him to obtain a safe-conduct from the Regent 
for his bride's passage through the Low Countries.^ 
The next day Frederic crossed the Channel and joined 
his wife at Brussels. Here, as Dorothea had already 
told him, he found the Queen much displeased at the 
trick which he had played her, and Hubert came in 
for his share of blame. They soon left Brabant for 
Heidelberg, and the Palatine sent Lady Lisle — or, as 
he called her, " Madame ma bonne mere " — a barrel 
of fine red and white Rhine wine in remembrance " of 
her loving son."^ 

IL 

King Henry's marriage to Anne of Cleves, as 
Southampton told his master, was exceedingly un- 
popular in the Netherlands. The alliance of so 
powerful a monarch with Duke William was fraught 
with danger, and the people bitterly resented the 
insult which, in their eyes, had been offered to the 
Duchess of Milan. The merchants of Antwerp said 
openly that, if King Henry chose to break faith with 
their Princess, he should not enjoy the company of 
another wife, and declared they would not allow the 
Lady Anne to pass through their city. The Cleves 
Envoys in England were so much alarmed by these 
reports that they travelled back to Diiren in disguise, 
and advised the bride to take the sea-route from 
Germany. But Mary of Hungary was too wise to 
show her annoyance, and sent a gracious message to 
Henry, saying that she would send Count Biiren 
to wait on the Lady Anne, on her journey through the 

^ Kaulek, 135. 

2 Calendar of State Papers, xiv. 2, 215; H. Thomas, 401. 



2i8 CLEVES, ORANGE, LORRAINE [Bk.vii 

Emperor's dominions. The King wrote back in high 
glee to thank " his dearest sister," and on the 27th of 
December his new bride landed safely at Dover .^ 
The loyal citizens of Flanders consoled themselves with 
the thought that, if their Duchess was not to be Queen 
of England, they would keep her among them, and 
the old rumour was persistently repeated: " She shall 
marry the Prince of Orange." All through the past 
year Rene had devoted himself to Christina's service, 
had worn her favours and broken lances in her honour. 
Her Italian servants called him openly the Duchess's 
cavaliere sirvente? But it was plain to Italians and 
Flemings alike that the affection was not at all on 
one side, and that this gallant Prince had won Chris- 
tina's heart. Old courtiers smiled kindly on the 
young couple, and ladies drew aside discreetly to 
leave them together. They were eminently fitted 
for each other by age, race and character. If the 
succession to the principality of Orange, which had 
been lately restored by the French King, hardly en- 
titled Rene to a place among the reigning Princes of 
Europe, at least he could offer her splendid homes 
at Brussels and Breda, and a position which many 
ladies of royal birth might envy. The Countess 
Palatine Dorothea privately encouraged the Prince, 
and her husband warmly approved of the match, and 
said openly that, since his sister-in-law could not be 
King Henry's wife, she had better marry the man of 
her choice, and not waste the best years of her life, 
as he himself had done.^ 

^ Calendar of State Papers, xiv. 2, 127, 232; Calendar of 
Spanish State Papers, vi. i, 200; Kaulek, 138, 139. 
2 Calendar of State Papers, xiv. 2, 127; Nott, ii. 399. 
^ Calendar of State Papers, xvi. 61 ; Henne, vi. 301-396. 



Sept., 1539] THE REVOLT OF G^ENT 219 

Queen Mary was, clearly, not averse to the Prince's 
suit, and had a strong liking for Rene ; but reasons of 
State prevented her from giving the union her public 
sanction, and all parties were agreed that nothing 
could be arranged until the Emperor's arrival. The 
date of his journey was now definitely fixed, and 
in November Mary told the English Ambassador 
Vaughan that her brother would be at Brussels by 
the New Year. Charles at length realized the critical 
situation of affairs, and saw that if he wished to keep 
his provinces de par-dega he must no longer delay his 
coming.^ In September, 1539, the citizens of Ghent, 
who had long been discontented, broke into open 
revolt. After refusing to pay their share of the 
subsidy voted by the States, the leading citizens 
put to death their chief magistrate, Li even Pyl, 
because he declined to bear their insolent message to 
the Regent, and proceeded to tear up the famous 
" Calf-vel," a parchment deed containing an agree- 
ment which they had made with Charles V. twenty- 
four years before. Worse than all, they sent deputies 
to King Francis, asking him to defend their liberties 
against the Emperor. At the first tidings of these 
disorders Mary hastened to Malines and took energetic 
measures to suppress the insurrection, which had 
already spread to several of the neighbouring towns .^ 
For some weeks the alarm was great, and watchers 
were posted on the tower of S. Rombaut night and 
day; but the Queen's presence of mind, and the 
support of her able lieutenants, A^rschot and De 
Courrieres, who was now Bailiff of Alost, succeeded 
in confining the mutiny to the walls of Ghent. A 

^ State Papers, Record Of&ce, viii. 205. 

2 Bulletin de la Commission d'Histoire, serie ii., 3, 490. 



220 CLEVES, ORANGE, LORRAINE [Bk. vil 

simultaneous rising at Maestricht was put down by 
the Prince of Orange, who raised 300 horse and 
hastened to restore order in that city. But the 
citizens of Ghent still openly defied the Regent, 
although Francis, to do him credit, refused to help 
the rebels. More than this, he addressed a letter 
with his own royal hand to Charles, saying that, if the 
Emperor was coming to chastise his revolted subjects, 
he hoped that he would do him the honour of passing 
through France, assuring him, on the faith . of a 
Prince, that every possible honour and hospitality 
would be shown him.^ 

So critical was the situation, both with regard to 
Ghent and Guelders, that Charles decided to accept 
the offer and take the shortest route to Flanders. 

" My good brother the Emperor," wrote Francis 
to his Ambassador in England, " is coming to visit 
me on his way to the Low Countries, a thing which 
not only does me the greatest honour, content, and 
pleasure, but is a proof of the good and perfect friend- 
ship between us." 

He expressed the same feelings in still stronger 
terms to Wyatt, whom Cromwell sent to Blois in 
December to be present at the meeting of the two 
monarchs. 

" The Emperor," he added, " is doing me the great- 
est honour that can be, by coming to visit me, and 
showing thereby that he taketh me for an honest 



man. 



"2 



On the 23rd of November Charles left Burgos, and 
four days later he entered Bayonne, attended by the 

^ Granvelle, " Papiers d'Etat," ii. 540 ; Calendar of State Papers, 
xiv. I, 437, 2, 193; Gacliard, "Relation des Troubles de Gand," 
258. 

2 Kaulek, 142; Nott, ii. 353. 



Nov., 15391 A SPLENDID RECEPTION 221 

Dauphin and the Constable Montmorency, whom 
the King had sent to meet him on the frontier. He 
had begged Francis to dispense with ceremonies, as 
his great object was to reach Flanders as quickly as 
possible, and to excuse him from entering on political 
matters, since he could not decide anything of im- 
portance until he had seen the Queen-Regent.^ But, 
in spite of this request, he was everywhere received 
with the utmost pomp and festivity. Triumphal 
arches were erected at the city gates, and the prison 
doors were thrown open at his entrance. Bordeaux 
presented him with 300 barrels of wine, Poitiers gave 
him a golden eagle, Orleans a dinner-service of richly 
chased plate. The meeting of the two monarchs 
took place at Loches on the loth of December. 
Charles, clad in deep mourning, walked under a 
canopy of cloth of gold, adorned with the imperial 
eagles, across <"he picturesque court to the gates of the 
castle, where King Francis met him, surrounded by a 
brilliant company. Three times over he embraced 
his guest, and led him to the hall, where Eleanor, in 
robes of purple satin glittering with pearls, welcomed 
her brother with transports of joy. Banquets and 
hunting-parties now followed each other, as the Court 
journeyed by slow stages along the banks of the Loire, 
from one fair chateau to another. At Amboise a heap 
of tow caught fire as Charles rode up the famous spiral 
staircase in the dusk, and he narrowly escaped being 
suffocated. But, mercifully, no one was injured, and 
Francis escorted his imperial brother by way of Blois 
and Orleans to Fontainebleau, where Christmas was 
spent and the Emperor was allowed to enjoy a week's 
rest. On New Year's Day the Emperor entered Paris, 

^ Gachard, 252. 



222 CLEVES, ORANGE, LORRAINE [Bk.vii 

where the ParHament and University received him 
" as if he were a god from heaven," and the following 
motto was inscribed on the gates in golden letters : 

" Ouvre, Paris, ouvre tes hautes portes, 
Entrer y veut le plus grand des Chretiens."^ 

Queen Eleanor, who scarcely left her brother's 
side, took him to see the Sainte Chapelle which St. 
Louis had built to receive the Crown of Thorns, and 
escorted him to the Louvre, where sumptuous rooms 
had been prepared for his reception. On Sunday 
a grand tournament was held on the Place des Tour- 
nelles, in front of the palace which then occupied the 
Place des Vosges, and the Duke of Vendome and 
the Count of Aumale opened the joust, while it was 
closed by Francis of Lorraine, the Marquis of Pont- 
a-Mousson. Charles left Paris on the 7th of January, 
and was presented by the city with a silver model 
of the Column of Hercules, seven feet high, bearing 
his motto, Plus oultre.^ The King took his guest to 
dine at his new pleasure-house, the Chateau de 
Madrid, accompanied him to St. Denis, where he 
visited the Tomb of the Kings, and went on to the 
Constable's house at Chantilly. Finally, on the 20th, 
the Emperor took his leave of the King and Queen 
at St. Quentin, and with tears in his eyes thanked 
his host for this truly brotherly reception.^ 

In spite of the sinister warnings which Charles had 
received before he set out on his journey, in 
spite of Mary of Hungary's fears and of Madame 
d'Etampes's thinly-veiled hostility, the experiment 

^ Gachard, 49. 

2 Henne, vii. 4; A. de Ruble, " Le Mariage de Jeanne d'Albret," 
46; R. de Bouille, " Histoire des Dues de Guise," i. 123. 

3 Gachard, 305. 



Jan., 1540] THE CALENDAR OF IfOOLS 223 

had proved a brilliant success. Spanish and French 
poets celebrated the triumph of Peace over War, 
and the return of the golden age. And Charles him- 
self laughed heartily when the King's jester, Triboulet, 
told him that he had inscribed His Imperial Majesty's 
name on his Calendar of Fools, because he had been 
so rash as to venture into his enemy's country, but 
now that he had reached the end of his journey with- 
out mishap, he should rub out Charles's name, and 
write that of Francis in its place .^ 

The French King went home in high delight, and 
wrote to Marillac saying that now all his differences 
with the Emperor would be easily arranged . During 
those five weeks the King had respected his guest's 
wishes and avoided politics, but the Constable, who 
enjoyed the Emperor's confidence in a high degree, 
had made good use of this opportunity, and flattered 
himself that he had been entirely successful. He 
was above all anxious to effect a marriage between 
the widowed Emperor and the King's daughter, and 
told Granvelle that Madame Marguerite was a 
rose among thorns, an angel among devils, and that, 
if His Imperial Majesty thought of making a second 
marriage, he could not do better. But Charles was 
firmly resolved never to take another wife, and, 
when the Constable pressed the point after he had 
left France, wrote that he must beg the King to give 
up all idea of such a union, as he did not intend to 
marry again, and was too old for Madame Mar- 
guerite .^ 

In spite of the splendour and cordiality of his 
reception, Charles was sad and tired, and longed more 

^ M. du Bellay, iv. 413. 

2 Granvelle, "Papiers d'Etat," ii. 562; Kaulek, 153. 



224 CLEVES, ORANGE, LORRAINE [Bk.vii 

than all else to find himself among his kindred and 
people. It was with heartfelt relief that he reached 
Cambray, and found the Prince of Orange, the Duke 
of Aerschot, and his faithful De Courrieres, with the 
Archers' Guard, awaiting him. The next day he 
went on to Valenciennes, where his loyal subjects 
welcomed his return with passionate joy. Triumphal 
arches adorned the streets, and the houses were 
hung with tapestries. Now it was his turn to act as 
host, and do honour to the Dauphin and Duke of 
Orleans, who, with Vendome, the Constable, and 
Aumale, the Duke of Guise's eldest son, had insisted 
on escorting him across the frontier.^ The keys of 
the city were presented to the Dauphin at the Cam- 
bray gate, torches blazed all along the streets, and 
the bells rang merry peals as Charles led the way to 
the ancient hotel-de-ville, known as La Salle, where 
the Queen of Hungary and the Duchess of Milan 
received him with open arms. The next two days 
were given up to mirth and festivity. Charles showed 
the French Princes the sights of the town, while the 
Constable was invited to dine alone with the Queen 
and her niece, and sat down to table between the 
two royal ladies. A splendid banquet was followed 
by a ball, which lasted far on into the morning. 
All the ladies appeared in magnificent costumes — 
French, Italian, Flemish, or Spanish, as they chose — 
and wore the richest jewels. The Emperor moved 
through the vast hall, blithe and debonair beyond his 
wont, jesting with his old friends and rejoicing to be 
once more in his native land. Mary and Christina, 
both of whom, remarks the chronicler, although 
widows, were still young and beautiful, danced with 

^ Gachard, 531. 



1539-41] A COURTLY FARE^VELL 225 

the French Princes all the evening, and were in high 
spirits.^ There was much gay talk, and the Pope's 
Legate, the young Cardinal Farnese, amused the 
guests with stories of the latest gossip from the Court 
of England, which Queen Eleanor had heard from 
Marillac, According to him, the new Queen, Anne of 
Cleves, was too. old and ugly for King Henry's taste, 
while her dresses and those of her German " Fraus " 
were so monstrous that the King would not allow them 
to appear at Court, and told his wife to adopt French 
fashions .2 

The next morning the French Princes appeared 
early to bid the Queen farewell, and were very gracious 
in their manner of leave - taking. The Dauphin 
received a superb diamond jewel in the shape of a 
griffin, and a very fine emerald was bestowed on 
the Constable. There was some talk of a marriage 
between the Duke of Orleans and a daughter of 
King Ferdinand, while the King of Navarre and his 
wife, Margaret of Angouleme, were eager for a match 
between their only daughter, Jeanne, and the Prince 
of Spain. Vendome probably realized that he had 
little chance of winning the Duchess of Milan, but he 
shrugged his shoulders and went his way gaily, 
saying he would wed the Pope's granddaughter, 
Vittoria Farnese, the sister of the boy Cardinal. 
And they all rode off in high spirits to join the King 
at La Fere and show him the Emperor's costly gifts. 
They met him on his way back from hunting, riding 
at the side of the Queen's litter, clad in a scarlet 
cloak, which made the English Ambassador remark 
how much better Eleanor was treated since her 

^ Gachard, 664-666. 

2 Calendar of State Papers, xv. 65. 



226 CLEVES, ORANGE, LORRAINE [Bk. vil 

brother's visit. And the whole Court, in Bishop 
Bonner's words, " made much demonstration of 
gladness, thinking they have God by the foot."^ 



III. 

Among all his political anxieties and preoccupa- 
tions, the Emperor had not forgotten his niece. 
Before he left Spain on this perilous journey through 
his old enemy's country, he drew up a paper of 
instructions to be given to his son Philip in case of his 
own death. A large part of this advice was devoted to 
the choice of a wife for the Prince himself, the heiress 
of Navarre being on the whole, in Charles's opinion, 
the most eligible bride for his son. After suggesting 
various alliances for his little daughters, Maria and 
Juana, the Emperor proceeded to urge on his suc- 
cessor the importance of finding a husband for his 
niece, the Widow of Milan, saying that he counted her 
as one of his own children. Three Princes, he said, 
were all eager to marry her — the Duke of Cleves, the 
heir of Lorraine, and the Duke of Vendome — but it 
would be necessary to defer his decision until he 
had ascertained the best measures for recovering 
Denmark and settling the question of Gu elders. 
" And if God," he added, " should call to Himself 
the Palatine Frederic, who is old and broken, one 
of these Princes might marry his widow. "^ Chris- 
tina's marriage, it is easy to see, was closely bound up 
with the settlement of Guelders, an object which lay 
very near to her uncle's heart. 

The English Ambassador Wyatt, who had been 

1 State Papers, Record Office, viii. 236, 237. 

2 Granvelle, "Papiers d'Etat," ii. 542. 



Feb., 1540] GUELDERS , 227 

posting after the Emperor across France, " through 
deep and foul roads," was convinced that Charles 
in his heart of hearts cared more for Guelders than he 
did for all Italy. This earnest desire to recover 
Guelders was, he felt sure, the true reason why the 
Emperor had undertaken this long journey in the 
depth of winter, and exposed his person to such great 
risks in passing through France. When, contrary to 
the Constable's express orders, Wyatt obtained an 
audience from the Emperor at Chatelherault, as he 
came in from hunting with the Dauphin, and in- 
formed him of His Majesty's marriage and alliance 
with Cleves, Charles turned angrily on him, saying: 

" What hath Monsieur de Cleves to do with 
Guelders ? I mean to show him that he has played 
the young man. I hope the King will give him good 
advice, for, I can tell you, Monsieur de Cleves shall 
give me reason. I say he shall — he shall ! If he 
does," he continued, laying his hand on his heart, 
" he shall find in me a Sovereign, a cousin, and a 
neighbour. Otherwise he will lose all three." ^ 

When, two months later in Brussels, Wyatt craved 
another interview of the Emperor, and begged him 
in Henry's name to look favourably on his brother- 
in-law's petition, Charles said he must desire the 
King not to meddle between him and his subjects, 
repeating the same words, " Je ne ferai rien," two 
or three times over. An Envoy from the Duke of 
Cleves came to meet him at Brussels, but was told 
that the Emperor could not attend to his master's 
business until the affairs of Ghent were settled. These, 
as Wyatt remarked, had already quieted down in a 
singular manner from the moment that the Emperor 

^ Nott, ii. 358. 



228 CLEVES, ORANGE, LORRAINE [Bk.vii 

started on his journey, and deputies from the re- 
volted city had been sent to meet him at Valenciennes. 
But he refused sternly to see them, saying that they 
would learn his pleasure when he came to Ghent .^ 

It was Charles's intention to overawe the turbulent 
city by an imposing display of armed force. On the 
14th of February, 1 540, he entered Ghent—" that great, 
rich, and beautiful city," writes the city chronicler, 
" with its broad streets, fair rivers, noble churches, 
houses, and hospitals, the finest in the Netherlands " 
— at the head of a stately procession. The Queen 
rode on his right hand, the Duchess of Milan on his 
left, followed by the Princess of Macedonia and other 
ladies in litters, the officers of the household, and a 
long train of foreign Ambassadors, Princes, and 
Knights of the Golden Fleece. Cardinal Farnese, 
Don Ferrante Gonzaga, Viceroy of Sicily, the Prince 
of Orange, the Dukes of Alva and Aerschot, Count 
Egmont, Biiren, De Praet, Lalaing, and Granvelle, 
were all present. In their rear came the troops — 
4,000 horse, 1,000 crossbowmen, 5,000 Landsknechten , 
and a strong body of artillery, numbering in all 
60,000 persons and 15,000 horses. Their entry lasted 
six hours, and it was dusk before the last guns and 
baggage defiled through the streets. Charles, with his 
sister and niece, alighted at the Prinzenhof, the house 
where he had been born just forty years before, and 
the Archers' Guard took up their station at the gates .^ 
A strong body of infantry was encamped in the neigh- 
bouring market-place, pickets of cavalry occupied 
the chief squares, and the rest of the troops were 
quartered in other parts of the city. But there was 

^ Nott, ii. 380, 391. 

2 Gachard, " Relation des Troubles de Gand," 65. 



April, I540] A SEVERE PUNISHMENT 229 

not the least show of resistance on the part of the 
citizens. Absolute tranquillity reigned everywhere 
while the stricken city awaited the Emperor's sen- 
tence. It was, as might be expected, a severe one. 
Twenty-three of the ringleaders were arrested, and 
after a prolonged trial were found guilty. On the 
17th of March, nine of these were put to death in the 
market-place, while the others were banished and 
heavily fined. On the 29th of April the Emperor 
convened the chief officers of State and magistrates 
in the great hall of the Prinzenhof, and, in the presence 
of the Queen and her Court, delivered his sentence 
on the guilty city. The charters and privileges of 
Ghent were annulled, the property of the Corporation 
was confiscated, and heavy additional fines were 
imposed, beside the payment of the 400,000 florins 
which had been the cause of the quarrel. In their 
consternation, the burghers turned to Mary and im- 
plored her to intercede on their behalf; but she 
could only advise them to throw themselves on the 
Emperor's mercy. On the 3rd of May a memor- 
able and historic scene took place in the court of the 
Prinzenhof. Here the Emperor, seated on a tribunal, 
with his crown on his head and sceptre in his hand, 
and surrounded by the Archers' Guard, received the 
senators and chief burghers, as, robed in black, with 
bare heads and feet, and halters round their necks, 
they knelt in the dust at his feet. The sentence of 
condemnation was read aloud in the presence of a 
brilliant assembly of nobles and courtiers, and of a 
vast crowd who looked on from the windows and roofs 
of the neighbouring houses. Then Mary, who occu- 
pied a chair at her brother's side, rose, and, turning 
to the Emperor, in eloquent words implored him to 

16 



230 CLEVES, ORANGE, LORRAINE [Bk.vii 

have pity on his poor city of Ghent, and to remember 
that he had been born there. The Emperor gave a 
gracious answer, saying that out of brotherly love 
for her and pity for his poor subjects he would pardon 
the citizens and restore their property. But he decided 
to build a citadel to keep the city in subjection, and, 
after taking his brother Ferdinand to the top of the 
belfry tower to choose a site, he eventually fixed on 
the high ground above the River Scheldt, where 
St. Bavon's Abbey stood. The demolition of the 
ancient monastery was at once begun, and before the 
Emperor left Ghent the first stone of the new fortress 
was laid.^ 

While these tragic events were taking place, a 
succession of illustrious guests arrived at Court. 
First of all, at the end of February, came Ferdinand, 
King of the Romans, a simple and honest Prince, 
the best of husbands and fathers, and as fondly 
attached to his sister Mary as she was to him. At 
the same time the Palatine Frederic sent his wife 
to join the family party and plead her unfortunate 
father's cause with the all-powerful Emperor. Al- 
though his journey to England had failed to secure 
Henry's support, he still cherished designs against 
Denmark, and was anxious to prevent a renewal of 
the truce between the Low Countries and King 
Christian III. After consulting Archbishop Carondelet, 
the President of the Council, and Granvelle, the two 
sisters, Dorothea and Christina, drew up a petition to 
the Emperor, imploring him to have pity on the poor 
prisoner, who had already languished seven years in 
solitary confinement, and reminding him gently of 
the pledges given to the Palatine at his marriage. 

^ Henne, vii. 40-90; Gachard, 67-70, 389. 



April, I540] WILLIAM OF CLEVES 231 

" My sister and I " — so ran the words of Dorothea's 
prayer — " your humble and loving children, entreat 
you, as the fountain of all justice, to have compassion 
on us. Open the prison doors, which you alone are 
able to do, release my father, and give me advice as 
to how I may best obtain the kingdom which belongs 
to me by the laws of God and man."^ 

But although the sisters' touching appeal on behalf 
of their captive father moved many hearts, and both 
Henry VIII. and James V. of Scotland wrote to assure 
the Palatine of their sympathy, no one was incHned 
to embark on so desperate an enterprise, and Dorothea 
went back to her lord at Heidelberg without having 
obtained any satisfaction. On the 14th of April a 
truce was concluded with the Danish Envoys, who 
had followed the Emperor to Ghent, and the illusory 
hopes of the three crowns which had been so long 
dangled before the Palatine's eyes melted into thin 
air .2 

There was still one important question awaiting 
settlement. Wilham of Cleves had sent three succes- 
sive Ambassadors to congratulate Charles on his return 
and to seek the investiture of Guelders at his hand. 
Now, at King Ferdinand's instance, he arrived at 
Ghent one day in person, to the surprise of the whole 
Court. 

" The Duke of Cleves," wrote an eyewitness of his 
entry, " has come to Ghent with a fine suite, to claim 
Guelders and marry the Duchess of Milan. This is 
not to be wondered at, for she is a young and very 
beautiful widow as well as a Princess of the noblest 
birth. He who wins her for his bride will be a fortu- 
nate man."^ 

1 Lanz, ii. 308. 2 Henne, vii. 282; Nott, ii. 418. 

3 Gachard, 65, 71. 



232 CLEVES, ORANGE, LORRAINE [Bk. vii 

The English Ambassador at Diiren, Nicholas 
Wotton, had done his utmost to prevent the Duke 
from accepting Ferdinand's invitation; and Wyatt 
was charged by Cromwell to neglect no means of 
preventing an alliance which would defeat all his 
schemes. The wily Ambassador laid his snares 
cleverly. When the Cleves Ambassador, Olisleger, 
told him that the Duke was about to wed the Duchess, 
he whispered that his master had better be careful 
and take counsel of King Henry before he took any 
further pledges. 

"I told him," wrote Wyatt to King Henry, " to 
advise his master, in case of marriage, to use his 
friend's counsel, and herein, if I shall be plain with 
Your Majesty, I cannot but rejoice in a manner of the 
escape that you made there; for although I suppose 
nothing but honour in the Lady, yet methinketh 
Your Highness 's mate should be without mote or 
suspicion; and yet there is thought affection between 
the Prince of Orange and her, and hath been of long ; 
which, for her bringing-up in Italy, may be noted but 
service which she cannot let, but I have heard it to 
proceed partly from her own occasion. Of this Your 
Majesty will judge, and do with your friend as ye 
shall think meet."^ 

Rene's courtship of the Duchess was no secret, 
and Christina's preference for the popular Prince was 
plain to everyone at the Imperial Court; but the un- 
worthy insinuations by which the Ambassador strove 
to blacken her character were altogether his invention. 

Since this was the surest way to win both Henry's 
and Cromwell's favour, Wyatt made unscrupulous 
use of these slanders to poison William of Cleves *s 
mind against the Duchess whose hand he sought. 

1 Nott, ii. 398. 



April, 1540] THE DUKE'S SUIT 233 

On the 13th of April the Duke arrived at Ghent, and 
was met by the Prince of Orange, who brought him 
to King Ferdinand's rooms. Late the same evening 
the English Ambassador had a secret interview with 
him, and did his utmost to dissuade him from enter- 
ing into any treaty with the Emperor. The Duke's 
irresolution was now greater than ever. The next 
day Ferdinand himself conducted him into the 
Emperor's presence, where he received the most 
friendly greeting, and was invited to join the imperial 
family at dinner. The gracious welcome which he 
received from Mary, and the sight of Christina, went 
far to remove his doubts, and during the next few 
days the harmony that prevailed among the Princes 
excited Wyatt's worst misgivings. The Venetian 
Ambassador, Francesco Contarini, met the Countess 
Palatine returning from Ghent, and heard from her 
servants that a marriage was arranged between her 
sister and the Duke of Cleves. Monsieur de Vely, the 
French Envoy, sent this report to Paris, and it was 
confidently asserted at the French and English Courts 
that Cleves had settled his quarrel with the Emperor, 
and was to wed the Duchess.^ 

But these reports were premature. The Duke 
told Wotton and Wyatt that nothing would induce 
him to give up Guelders, and at their suggestion he 
placed a statement of his claims in the hands of 
Ferdinand, who promised to submit the document 
to the Emperor. During the next fortnight the 
question was discussed in all its bearings by Charles 
and his Councillors. The Duke pressed his suit for 
the Duchess's hand, and the Emperor went so far as 
to offer him the reversion of Denmark if he would 

* Nott, ii. 417; State Papers, Record Office, viii. 329. 



234 CLEVES, ORANGE, LORRAINE [Bk.vii 

renounce Guelders. But William was as obstinate as 
the Emperor, and, when Ferdinand induced Charles 
to offer Cleves his niece and the duchy of Guelders for 
his lifetime, he quite refused to accept this proposal. 
All Ferdinand could persuade him to do, was to 
consent that the question of Guelders should be 
referred to the Imperial Chamber, a compromise 
which satisfied neither party. Still friendly rela- 
tions were maintained outwardly. On Sunday, the 
27th of April, the imperial family attended Mass in 
state, the Emperor riding to the Church of St. John 
with the King of the Romans and the boy Legate, 
Cardinal Farnese, on his left, followed by the Dukes 
of Brunswick, Cleves, Savoy, and the Marquis of 
Brandenburg. In the afternoon Ferdinand sent for 
the Duke again, and made one more attempt to 
arrange matters, without success. Some insolent 
words spoken by Cleves 's servants aroused the Em- 
peror's anger, upon which the Duke became alarmed, 
and sent Wotton word that, seeing no hope of agree- 
ment, he intended to return home. Early the next 
morning, without taking leave of anyone, he rode 
out of the town secretly, and never halted until he 
was safe in his own dominions . His royal brother-in- 
law. King Henry, sent him a long letter, congratu- 
lating him on his safe return, and advising him 
solemnly not to marry the Duchess of Milan without 
finding out the true state of her affections towards 
the Prince of Orange, lest he should be deceived. 
Wotton told the King, in reply, that the Duke's affec- 
tion for Christina was now cooled, partly because she 
had refused him, and partly because of the information 
which Henry had given him. All idea of the marriage 
was certainly abandoned, and on the 22nd of June 



May, 1540] AN ABRUPT DEPARTURE 235 

Cleves himself wrote to tell Henry that he had 
received friendly overtures from the French King, and 
was sending Ambassadors to make proposals for his 
niece, the Princess of Navarre.^ 

Meanwhile the Duke's strange conduct had excited 
much surprise at Ghent. The Emperor, who had 
spent the anniversary of his wife's death in retire- 
ment at a Carthusian convent in the neighbourhood, 
returned to find Cleves gone. Henry of Brunswick 
rode with his friend to the outskirts of the town, and 
hurried back to be present at the imperial table, 
where he tried to explain the Duke's abrupt departure 
by saying that he was afraid of treachery. But 
Ferdinand and Mary were both seriously annoyed, 
and the only member of the family to rejoice was 
Christina, who felt that she could once more breathe 
freely. 

The pacification of Ghent was now complete, and 
the bulk of the forces were disbanded. On Ascension 
Day — the 6th of May — the imperial family attended 
Mass at St. John's, the Queen " walking lovingly up 
the church, hand in hand with the King of the 
Romans." The Ambassadors were all present, as 
well as Cardinal Farnese — in Wotton's opinion " a 
very calf, and a greater boy in manners and condition 
than in years." 

On the 12th the King of the Romans took leave 
of his family, but the Council at which he assisted 
lasted so late in the evening that he did not actually 
set out on his journey till two o'clock on the following 
day. About six in the cool hours of the May morn- 
ing, the Emperor, with his sister and niece, rode out 
to see the foundations of the new citadel laid, and 

^ Calendar of State Papers, xv. 349, 367. 



236 CLEVES, ORANGE, LORRAINE [Bk. vii 

then continued their journey towards Antwerp, 
where " great gun-shot " and bonfires welcomed their 
arrival .^ 

IV. 

The Court spent the next three weeks at Bruges, 
the beautiful old city which was always a favourite 
with Charles and his sisters, in the ancient Prinzenhof 
where their mother had died. During these summer 
days many important events took place, and startling 
news came from England. On the loth of June 
Cromwell was suddenly arrested and sent to the 
Tower on a charge of high- treason. A fortnight later 
the new Queen, Anne of Cleves, left Whitehall for 
Richmond, and on the 9th of July her marriage was 
pronounced null and void by a decree of Convocation. 
The ostensible reason for the divorce was a pre- 
contract between Anne and Francis of Lorraine. It 
was true that as children they had been affianced by 
their respective parents, but, as was common in such 
cases, all idea of the marriage had been afterwards 
abandoned, and Henry had professed himself en- 
tirely satisfied with the explanations given by Anne's 
relatives on the subject. But from the first moment 
that he met his bride at Rochester, on New Year's 
Day, 1540, he was profoundly disappointed. When 
Cromwell asked him how he liked her, he replied, 
" Nothing so well as she was spoken of," adding that, 
had he known as much of her before as he did now, 
she should never have set foot in his realm. How- 
ever, he felt constrained to marry her, for fear of 
" making a ruffle in the world," and driving her brother 

^ State Papers, Record Ofifice, viii. 336, 340, 354; Calendar of 
State Papers, xv. 318. 



July, 1540] CROMWELL'S FAL,L 237 

into the Emperor's arms. At Whitsuntide he told 
Cromwell that from the day of his marriage he had 
become weary of life, and took a solemn oath that 
before God Anne had never been his lawful wife. 

From that moment Cromwell knew that his own 
fate was sealed. " The King loves not the Queen," 
he said to Wriothesley. " What a triumph for the 
Emperor and the Pope!" A week afterwards he' 
was committed to the Tower, and on the 28th of July 
he was beheaded.^ 

The news of his fall was received with general satis- 
faction abroad. King Francis gave vent to boisterous 
joy, and sent his brother word how sincerely he rejoiced 
to hear that this false and wicked traitor, who had 
brought the noblest heads in England to the block, 
was at length unmasked. The Emperor, on the con- 
trary, showed no surprise or emotion when he heard 
the news from Archdeacon Pate, the new Envoy 
who had succeeded Wyatt, but merely said: " What! 
is he in the Tower of London, and by the King's 
counsel ?" And when, on the 6th of July, Pate in- 
formed him that the King had repudiated his wife, 
he cast his eye steadfastly on the speaker, and asked 
what scruples His Majesty entertained regarding his 
marriage with the daughter of Cleves. The Ambas- 
sador explained, as best he could, what he took to be 
the motives of the King's action, upon which the 
Emperor said that he was convinced Cromwell was 
the true cause of all the terrible crimes which had of 
late years been committed against religion and order 
in England. So friendly was the Emperor that Pate 
wrote to the Duke of Norfolk: " If His Majesty hath 
thereby lost the hearts of the Electors, he hath in 

^ Calendar of State Papers, xv. 363, 390, 391. 



238 CLEVES, ORANGE, LORRAINE [Bk.vii 

their places gained those of the Emperor and the 
French King."^ 

Both at Bruges and Antwerp the news aroused 
much excitement among the merchants, who were 
unanimous in the opinion that the King now in- 
tended to take the Duchess of Milan ** for the true 
heart which she bore him." But nothing was further 
from Christina's mind. She had rejoiced at the 
failure of the King's suit, and saw the Duke of 
Cleves leave Ghent without regret. Now all seemed 
ripe for the fulfilment of her long-cherished hopes. 
The Prince of Orange had been unremitting in his 
attendance on the Emperor since his arrival, and, as 
all men knew, was honoured by His Majesty's con- 
fidence and affection. His popularity with the army 
was unbounded, and it was a common saying that 
wherever the Prince's little pony went, every Dutch- 
man would follow. The Queen looked kindly on his 
suit, and Christina's heart was already his own. 
But when, in these bright June days at Bruges, he 
modestly laid his suit before the Emperor, an un- 
expected difficulty arose. Three years before a 
marriage with the Duke of Lorraine's only daughter 
had been proposed for the young Prince of Orange 
by his uncle, William of Nassau-Dillenburg, the head 
of the German branch of the house. The idea met 
with Henry of Nassau's cordial approval, and at his 
request the Emperor sent his servant Montbardon to 
obtain Duke Antoine's consent. This was granted 
without any difficulty, and the contract was drawn 
up before the Count of Nassau's death.^ Now the 
Duke urged the Prince to keep this long-standing 

^ Kaulek, 191; State Papers, Record 0£&ce, viii. 386, 397, 412. 
2 L. Hugo, " Traite sur I'Origine de la Maison de Lorraine," 212. 



June, 1540] RENE OF ORANGE 239 

engagement and marry his daughter Anne — the plain 
but excellent lady whose portrait Holbein had taken 
for King Henry. The Prince had never seen his 
destined bride, and was very reluctant to carry out 
the contract, but the Emperor was resolute. Antoine 
already had a serious grievance in the matter of 
Guelders, and it was of the highest importance to 
secure his alliance. Accordingly, Charles told Rene 
that he must prove himself a loyal knight, and with 
his own hand drew up the articles of the marriage 
treaty, and sent them to Nancy by the Archdeacon 
of Arras. Christina's name is never mentioned in 
the whole transaction. It was the old story of the 
Count Palatine and the Archduchess Eleanor. She 
was a daughter of the House of Habsburg, and knew 
that the Emperor's will must be obeyed. So she could 
only bow her head in silence and submit to his decrees. 
If she wept bitter tears, it was in secret, in her quiet 
chamber in the ancient Cour des Princes at Bruges, 
looking down on the green waters of the canal .^ 

There was great rejoicing throughout Lorraine when 
the Emperor's messenger reached Nancy and the 
marriage was proclaimed. Anne was very popular 
throughout the duchy, and since her mother's death, 
a year before, had taken a prominent place at the 
ducal Court, where her tact and kindness made her 
universally beloved. The wedding took place in the 
last week of August at Bar.^ All the members of the 
ducal house were present, including the Duke and 
Duchess of Guise, with their sons and daughters, 
and the Cardinal of Lorraine, who came from the 
French Court to pronounce the nuptial blessing. 

^ State Papers, Record Office, viii. 398. 
2 Pfister, " Histoire de Nancy," ii. 188. 



240 CLEVES, ORANGE, LORRAINE [Bk.vii 

The Prince of Orange's martial appearance and his 
splendid suite made a favourable impression on his 
new relatives, as Antoinette de Bourbon wrote to 
her daughter in Scotland : 

" I have delayed longer than I intended before 
writing to you, but we have been so well amused by 
the wedding of Mademoiselle de Lorraine that until 
this moment I have not had leisure to begin this 
letter. Yesterday we left the assembled company. 
There was a very large gathering, and the wedding 
took place last Tuesday. Monsieur le Prince arrived 
honourably attended, and is, I can assure you, a 
very charming and handsome Prince. He is much 
pleased with his bride, and she is devoted to him. 
They are to go home in a fortnight. The fete was at 
Bar, but there were very few strangers present — only 
a few nobles and ladies of the neighbourhood."^ 

On the 27th of September the Prince of Orange 
brought his bride to Brussels, where the States were 
assembled. The whole Court rode out to welcome 
the happy pair, and escorted them to the Nassau 
palace, where the Prince changed his travelling dress 
for a Court mantle, and hastened to pay his respects 
to the Emperor. A succession of fetes was given in 
their honour, and dances, masques, and banquets, 
were the order of the day. The Princess charmed 
everyone by her gracious manners, and her fine figure 
and splendid clothes and jewels became the object of 
general admiration. 

On the 2nd of October a grand tournament was 
given in the Prince's house, which the Emperor, 
Queen Mary, and Christina, honoured with their 
presence. Rene himself challenged all comers at 
the barriers, and his wife was the most charming 

^ Balcarres Manuscripts, ii. 15, Advocates' Library, Edin- 
burgh. 



Oct., 1540] ANNE OF LORRAIP^E 241 

hostess. Before Charles left, he presented Anne with 
a costly ring, and appointed the Prince to succeed 
Antoine de Lalaing as Stadtholder of Holland and 
Friesland. Three days afterwards the newly-married 
pair left Court for their own home at Breda, and 
the Emperor set out on a progress through 
Artois and Hainault, leaving his sister and niece at 
Brussels. 

Rene's wife soon became a great favourite with the 
Queen, and Christina danced as gaily as the rest at the 
wedding fetes. But it is significant that the only men- 
tion made of her in contemporary records is in the 
despatches of the English Ambassador, Richard Pate, 
who tells us that the Duchess of Milan spent much of 
her time in the company of her brother-in-law, the Pala- 
tine.^ Frederic had come to Brussels to confer with the 
Emperor on German affairs, and, if possible, to raise a 
loan of 600,000 ducats for his intended campaign 
against Denmark. But although Charles professed 
himself ready and anxious to oblige his good cousin, 
the Regent would give him no answer, and ended by 
telling him to get the money from the Imperial 
Treasury. Richard Pate held long and confidential 
conversations with the Palatine, who recalled his 
visit to Windsor with delight, and spoke with warm 
admiration of the beauty of the singing in St. George's 
Chapel. He was curious to know if his old friend 
the King had grown as fat as he was represented in 
recent portraits, and rejoiced to hear that His 
Majesty was lusty and merry. As for the Duchess 
of Milan, he could only feel sorry that so charming a 
lady should still lack a husband, and frankly regretted 
that she had not married King Henry, or, failing 

^' State Papers, Record OflB.ce, viii. 444. 



242 CLEVES, ORANGE, LORRAINE [Bk.vii 

him, the Prince of Orange.^ After his return to 
Germany, Frederic made another attempt to bring 
about his sister-in-law's marriage to the Duke of 
Cleves, who still hesitated between his old love for 
Christina and his reluctance to give up Guelders. 
But negotiations were already in progress with another 
suitor, who had bided his time patiently, and who 
was now at length to obtain his reward. 

The Prince of Orange's union with Anne of Lor- 
raine had strengthened the ties that bound her father 
to the Emperor, and a second marriage, which took 
place this autumn, united the two houses still more 
closely. Among the young nobles who accompanied 
Rene to Bar for his wedding was Charles, Prince of 
Chimay, the eldest son of the Duke of Aerschot, the 
wealthy and powerful Governor of Brabant, who was 
foremost among the Regent's confidential advisers, 
and whom she affectionately called by the pet name 
of " Moriceau." On the death of his mother in 1539, 
the young Prince had succeeded to her vast estates, 
and lived at the fine castle of Beaumont, near the 
French frontier. At Bar he saw and fell in love with 
Louise de Guise, the lovely girl whom Henry VIIL 
would gladly have made his wife. But there were 
difficulties in the young suitor's way. His own family 
began by opposing the marriage, and it was some time 
before Charles's consent could be obtained. The 
Duke of Guise had long been the Emperor's most 
bitter enemy, and was known to have strongly op- 
posed his journey through France. Fortunately, 
Duchess Antoinette was from the first on the lovers' 
side, and succeeded in gaining her husband's con- 
sent. For some time past King Francis had been 

^ Calendar of State Papers, Henry VI 1 1., xvi. i, 60. 



1539-41] LOUISE DE GUISE 243 

trying to arrange a marriage between her eldest son, 
the Count of Aumale, and the Pope's granddaughter, 
" Vyquetorya Farnese," as Louise calls her in one of 
her letters. But the Pope haggled over the dowry, 
and insisted on asking the Emperor's consent; so 
that Antoinette had a troublesome task in her lord's 
absence, and complained sorely to the Queen of 
Scotland of these vexatious delays. 

" By way of consolation, however," she writes on 
the 30th of November, " we have an offer for your 
sister. Monsieur le Due d'Aerschot has sent to ask 
for her, on behalf of his eldest son, the Prince of 
Chimay, a youth about twenty, handsome and well 
brought up, we hear. He will give him a portion of 
50,000 crowns a year, and he will have some fine 
estates, such as the duchy of Aerschot, the principality 
of Chimay, the counties of Beaumont and Porcien, 
most of them near Guise. I have told your father, 
who is at Court, and he approves, and has spoken to 
the King and to our brothers, who all advise us to 
accept the proposal. So do my brother-in-law [the 
Duke of Lorraine] and my mother [Madame de 
Vendome]. It has been arranged that we should all 
meet at Bar on the Conception of Our Lady, as my 
lord the Duke wishes the matter to be settled at his 
house. I hope your father will be there, but if not 
he will give me the necessary powers. If things can 
be arranged, she will be well married, for the Prince 
has great possessions and beautiful houses, and plate 
and furniture in abundance. But it is a great 
anxiety to be treating of two marriages at once."'' 

Happily for the good Duchess, the young Prince 
had his way, and the contract between him and Louise 
was duly signed at Bar on the 22nd of December. 
On the same day the Emperor, accompanied by the 
Regent and Duchess of Milan, paid a visit to the 
Duke of Aerschot at Beaumont, and offered him 

^ Balcarres Manuscripts, ii. 22. 



244 CLEVES, ORANGE, LORRAINE Bk. vil 

their warmest congratulations on his son's marriage.^ 
The wedding took place at Joinville in the following 
March, by which time Christina's own marriage to 
Louise's cousin was arranged, and all Lorraine rang 
with the sound of wedding-bells. 



V. 

The vaunted alliance between Charles and Francis 
did not last long, and less than a year after the 
Emperor and King had parted at St. Quentin, 
vowing eternal friendship, a renewal of war seemed 
already imminent. Francis was bitterly disappointed 
to find that none of the great results which he 
expected from Charles's visit had come to pass. 
The Emperor firmly declined to marry his daughter, 
and gave no signs of surrendering Milan to the Duke 
of Orleans. All he would offer was the reversion of 
the Low Countries as his daughter's portion if she 
married Orleans. This failed to satisfy Francis, who 
declared that he would have Milan and nothing else. 
In order to prevent his niece, Jeanne of Navarre, 
marrying the Prince of Spain, the King offered her to 
the Duke of Cleves, who signed a treaty with France 
this summer, but was not actually affianced to the 
little Princess until the Duchess of Milan was finally 
betrothed to Francis of Lorraine. Upon hearing of 
the alliance between France and Cleves, Charles 
retaliated by solemnly investing his son Philip with 
the duchy of Milan. This ceremony took place at 
Brussels on the nth of October, and was regarded 
by Francis as an open act of defiance. He vented his 

1 W. Bradford, " Itinerary of Charles V.," 517; State Papers, 
Record Of&ce, viii. 508. 



Jan., 1541] CHRISTINA'S BETROTHAL 245 

anger on the Constable, who asked leave to retire; 
while Madame d'Etampes did her best to obtain 
her rival's disgrace and induce the King to declare 
war against the Emperor. But Francis was loth to 
let his old servant go, and said to Montmorency, with 
tears in his eyes: " How can you ask me to let you 
leave me ? I have only one fault to find with you, 
that you do not love what I love."^ The Constable 
consented to remain, and for the moment the crisis 
was delayed. 

After visiting the forts along the frontier and leaving 
garrisons in every town, the Emperor came to Namur 
for Christmas, and prepared for his final departure. 
Forty chariots were needed for his own use, and all 
the horses and carts in the neighbouring provinces 
were requisitioned to provide for the conveyance of 
his immense suite. On Innocents' Day the Court 
moved to Luxembourg, and all the gentlemen of 
the countryside rode out to meet the Emperor. 
With him came the Queen and the Duchess of Milan, 
and on the same evening they were joined by the 
Duke of Lorraine and his son Francis, the Marquis 
of Pont-a-Mousson. On the Feast of the Three 
Kings the imperial party attended Mass in the 
cathedral, and the Emperor, after his usual custom, 
presented golden cups to three abbeys in the town. 
And on the same day the marriage of the Marquis to the 
Duchess of Milan was finally concluded, to the great 
delight of the old Duke, who was as much pleased as 
the bridegroom. Two days afterwards Charles took 
an affectionate farewell of his sister and niece, and 
went on to Regensburg, leaving them to return to 
Brussels, while the Duke of Lorraine hastened to 

^ F. Decrue, " Montmorency a la Cour de Frangois I.," i. 392. 

17 



246 CLEVES, ORANGE, LORRAINE [Bk. vii 

Nancy to summon the States and inform his loyal 
subjects of his son's marriage.^ 

On the ist of March the contract drawn up by 
the Imperial Ministers, Granvelle and De Praet, 
was signed by the Duke of Lorraine at Bar, and on the 
2oth by the Emperor. The ducal manors of Blamont 
and Denoeuvre were settled upon the Duchess, and, in 
order that she might not lose any rank by her mar- 
riage, the Marquis received the title of Duke of Bar.^ 
On the 1 2th of March the Queen and Duchess both 
went to the Castle of Beaumont in Hainault, to be 
present at the splendid reception which the Duke of 
Aerschot gave his daughter-in-law. The Duchess of 
Guise herself accompanied the beloved Louise to her 
future home, and wrote the following account of the 
festivities to Queen Mary of Scotland from her hus- 
band's chateau at Guise: 

" Madame, 

" I have been so confidently assured that the 
safest way for letters is to send them by Antwerp 
merchants that I am sending mine by this means, 
and your sister will be my postmistress in future. 
I wrote to tell you of the conclusion of her marriage, 
and sent the articles of the treaty and the account of 
her wedding by your messenger. I have just taken 
her to her new home, a fine and noble house, as well 
furnished as possible, called Beaumont. Her father- 
in-law, the Duke, received her very honourably, 
attended by as large and illustrious a company as you 
could wish to see. Among others, the Queen of 
Hungary was present, and the Duchess of Milan, 
and both the Prince and Princess of Orange, who, by 
the way, is said to be with child, although this is 
not quite certain as yet, and I confess I have my 
doubts on the subject. I think your sister is very 

^ Gachard, " Voyages de Charles V.," ii. 167. 
2 A. Calmet, " Histoire de Lorraine," iii. 387. 



March, 1541] WEDDING-BELLS 247 

well married. She has received beautiful presents, 
and her husband has made her a very rich wedding- 
gift. He is young, but full of good- will and excellent 
intentions. It did not seem at all like Lent, for the 
sound of trumpets and the clash of arms never ceased, 
and there was some fine jousting. At the end we 
had to part — not without tears. I am now back at 
Guise, but only for one night, and go on to-morrow 
to La Fere. My brother the Cardinal, and my 
brother and sister of St. Pol, will be there on Wednes- 
day. For love of them I will stay at La Fere over 
Thursday, and set out again on Friday, to reach 
Joinville as soon as may be, in the hope of finding 
your father still there, as well as our children — that 
is to say, the little ones and the priests."^ 

Ten days later Louise herself wrote a long and 
happy letter to her sister from Beaumont, full of the 
delights of her new home and of the kindness with 
which she had been received by her husband's family. 

" Madame, 

" Since God gave me this great blessing of a 
good husband, I have never found time to write to 
you. But I can assure you that I count myself 
indeed fortunate to be in this house, for, besides all 
the grandeur of the place, I have a lord and father- 
in-law whom I may well call good. It would take 
three sheets of paper if I were to tell you all the 
kindness with which he treats me. You may there- 
fore be quite satisfied of your sister's happiness, and 
she is further commanded to offer you the very humble 
service of the masters and lords of this house, who 
beg that you will employ them on any occasion that 
may arise, since they will always be very glad to 
obey your wishes. We also have a very wise and 
virtuous Queen, who has done me the greatest honour 
by coming here to our house, expressly, as she con- 
descended to say, to receive me. She told me her- 
self that she meant to take me for her very humble 

^ Balcarres Manuscripts, ii. 5 (see Appendix). The priests were 
Antoinette's two sons, Charles, Archbishop of Reims, and Louis, 
both of whom afterwards became Cardinals. 



248 CLEVES, ORANGE, LORRAINE [Bk. vil 

daughter and servant, and that in future she hoped 
I should be often in her company, which, considering 
how httle she has seen of me, was exceedingly kind. 
The Duchess of Milan said the same, and was the 
best and kindest of all. We may soon hope to see 
her in Lorraine, for her marriage to the Marquis is 
in very good train. Since my mother went home, 
she has sent a letter asking me to find out if this 
route to Scotland will be shorter than the other. 
If this is the case, and you like to send me your 
letters for her, I shall be delighted. Only, Madame, 
you must be sure to address your packets to the Duke 
of Aerschot, which will be easy for you, as then the 
merchants who come from Scotland will leave them 
at Antwerp or Bruges, or any other town, and they 
will not fail to reach me, since my father-in-law is 
greatly loved and honoured throughout the Nether- 
lands. And I pray that God will give you a longfand 
happy life. 

" Your very humble and obedient sister, 

" Louise of Lorraine. 

" From Beaumont, the 25th day of March. "^ 

The keenest interest in these marriages was shown 
at the Court of Scotland. King James wrote cordial 
letters from Edinburgh to his sister-in-law and to 
the Duke of Aerschot, and congratulated the Princess 
of Orange on her happy expectations, begging her 
to write to him and his wife more frequently .2 Anne 
had always been on affectionate terms with her 
aunt and cousins at Joinville, and the presence of 
Louise at Brussels this summer was another bond 
between them. 

Meanwhile King Francis was greatly annoyed to 
hear of the Duchess of Milan's marriage. He com- 
plained bitterly to the Duke of Guise and the Car- 
dinal of their brother's desertion, and vowed that 

^ Balcarres Manuscripts, ii. 153 (see Appendix). 
2 Ihid., ii. 157. 



April, 1541] AN UNWILLING B^IDE 249 

Antoine and his son should feel the full weight of his 
displeasure. He was as good as his word, and, when 
the Prince assumed the title of Duke of Bar, disputed 
his rights to this duchy on the ground that it was a fief 
of the Crown. In order to satisfy these new claims, 
the Duke was compelled to sign an agreement on the 
22nd of April, by which he and his son consented to 
do homage to the King for the duchy of Bar, and to 
grant free passage of French troops through this 
province.^ 

At the same time Francis invited the Duke of 
Cleves to come to Blois, as he wished his marriage to 
the Princess of Navarre to be celebrated without 
delay. On the nth of April the States assembled 
at Diisseldorf were amazed to hear from Chancellor 
Olisleger that their Duke, being unable to obtain the 
Duchess of Milan's hand without the surrender of 
Guelders, was about to contract another marriage 
with the Princess of Navarre, and had actually 
started on his wedding journey.^ The King and 
Queen of Navarre had always been averse to their 
daughter's union with the Duke of Cleves, but 
Margaret's resistance was overcome by the royal 
brother whom she adored, and her husband gave a 
reluctant consent to the marriage; but the little 
Princess Jeanne, a delicate child of twelve, refused 
in the most determined manner to marry this foreign 
Prince. In vain she was scolded and whipped, and 
threatened by her uncle the King with worse punish- 
ments. For many weeks the child persisted in her 
refusal, and, when compelled to yield, signed a pro- 

^ State Papers, Record Office, viii. 609. 

2 State Papers, Record Office, viii. 550; Calendar of State 
Papers, xv. 344, 362 ; A. de Ruble, " Mariage de Jeanne d'Albret," 
83. 



250 CLEVES, ORANGE, LORRAINE [Bk.vii 

test on the eve of her marriage, which with the secret 
connivance of her parents was duly witnessed and 
preserved. On the 14th of June, 1540, the strange 
wedding was finally solemnized at Chatelherault, on 
the Garonne. A series of Arcadian fetes in beautiful 
summer weather were given by King Francis, who 
never lost an opportunity for indulging his love of 
romance. Arbours and colonnades of verdure were 
reared on the river-banks. King Arthur and the 
Knights of the Round Table were seen riding forth 
in quest of adventure; highborn ladies, clad as 
nymphs and dryads, danced on the greensward by 
torchlight.^ The bridegroom gave his bride mag- 
nificent jewels, although Jeanne was never seen in 
public, and did not even appear at the ball on the 
night before the wedding. Finally, when all were 
assembled in the royal chapel, and the King came to 
lead his niece to the altar, the little Princess, weighed 
down by her costty jewels and gold and silver brocades, 
was unable to walk. " Take her by the neck !" 
cried the impatient monarch to Montmorency, and 
the Constable of France, not venturing to disobey the 
royal command, lifted up the frightened child in 
his arms and bore her to the altar before the eyes of 
the whole Court. As he did so he was heard to 
mutter, " C'en est fini, de ma faveur, adieu lui dis!" 
and, surely enough, the day after the wedding he 
received his dismissal, and left Court, never to 
return during the lifetime of Francis.^ 

The Duke had agreed, in order to satisfy the King 
and Queen of Navarre, that the marriage should be 

^ M. du Bellay, " Memoires," iv. 415. 

2 A. de Ruble, 118; F. Decrue, " Anne de Montmorency a la 
Cour de Francois I.," 403. 



July, 1541] CHRISTINA'S WEDE)ING 251 

merely formal, and consented to leave his unwilling 
bride with her parents for another year. Accord- 
ingly, three days later he bade them farewell, 
and rode, attended by a strong French escort, 
through the Ardennes, and travelled down the 
Moselle and Rhine to Cologne. As he passed through 
Luxembourg he saw the trained bands gathering in 
force on the frontier, and heard that they were 
assembling under Count Biiren to meet his successful 
rival, Francis of Lorraine, and bring him to Brussels 
for his wedding.^ 

Here great preparations had been made to do 
honour to the Emperor's niece, and the guests came 
from far and wide. Christina's trousseau was worthy 
of her exalted rank, and the Queen presented her 
with a wonderful carcanet of rubies, diamonds, and 
emeralds, with pendants of large pear-shaped pearls. 
The marriage was solemnized on Sunday, the loth of 
July, in the great hall where, twenty-six years before, 
Isabella of Austria, had been married to the King of 
Denmark. Only two of the foreign Ambassadors 
were absent from the wedding banquet — the Eng- 
lishmen Vaughan and Carne — a fact which naturally 
excited much comment. King Henry changed colour 
when Chapuys told him of Christina's marriage, and 
was at no pains to conceal his surprise and vexation. 
He said repeatedly that he wondered how the Em- 
peror could allow so noble and renowned a Princess 
to marry the Marquis, when there could be no doubt 
that Anne of Cleves was his lawful wife, and insisted 
that this had been the chief reason of his own separa- 
tion from this lady. After the wedding he again 
referred to the incident, and told Chapuys in con- 

* State Papers, Record Office, viii. 585. 



252 CLEVES, ORANGE, LORRAINE [Bk. vii 

fidence that the Duke of Lorraine had secretly made 
over his rights on Guelders to the French King, 
and would never help the Emperor against France, 
since Monseiur de Guise and the Cardinal of Lorraine 
were entirely on the French side. Chapuys listened 
with polite attention, and reported most of the King's 
conversation for the amusement of the Court at 
Brussels.^ 

Here a series of fetes took place after the wedding. 
A grand tournament was held in front of the hotel- 
de-ville, followed by the mock siege of a fortress in 
the park, and a hunting-party in the Forest of Soignies.^ 

On the 14th, the Duke and Duchess of Bar left 
Brussels to pay a round of visits in the neighbour- 
hood and " see the country," and on the 27th the 
Queen went to meet them at the Duke of Aerschot's 
hunting-palace at Heverle, near Louvain, and spent 
several days there with the two other newly-married 
couples, the Prince and Princess of Orange and the 
Prince and Princess of Chimay.^ 

Finally, on the ist of August, the bride and bride- 
groom set out on their journey, attended by a brilliant 
company, which included the Prince and Princess of 
Orange, the Duke of Aerschot, the Prince and Princess 
of Chimay, the Counts of Berghen, Biiren, and 
Brederode. They travelled by slow stages, resting 
at Namur, Luxembourg, Thionville, and Metz. Tri- 
umphal arches were erected over the gates of each 
city, and the burghers came out in procession to 
greet the bride. At Metz Christina was presented 
with an illuminated book on " Marriage," by the 

^ Calendar of Spanish State Papers, vi. i, 332, 349. 

2 Henne, vii. 282; Calendar of State Papers, xvi. i, 470, 

3 Calendar of State Papers, xvi. i, 508, 



Aug., 1541] A NOBLE LADY, 253 

Regent of the University, Edmond du Boullay, and 
the Chapter of Toul offered her a gold cup, filled with 
300 crowns, while the city gave her 200 crowns and 
ten barrels of choice wine.^ 

On the 8th the wedding-party reached Pont-a- 
Mousson, and found a large family gathering waiting 
to receive them. A few days before the Cardinal of 
Lorraine had joined the Duke and Duchess of Guise 
at Joinville, and had accompanied them to Pont-a- 
Mousson, as Antoinette wrote, 

" in order to give our new Lady her first greeting 
and conduct her to Nancy. Great preparations have 
been made to welcome her, and there is to be some 
fine jousting. I will tell you if there is anything 
worth writing, and must confess I am very curious 
to see if the Marquis makes a good husband. At 
least the country rejoices greatly at the coming of so 
noble and excellent a lady."^ 

The Duchess of Guise had collected most of her 
family for the occasion, and brought four of her sons 
— Aumale, Mayenne, Charles, Archbishop of Reims, 
and Louis, Bishop of Troyes — to Pont-a-Mousson, as 
well as her little grandson, the Duke of Longueville, 
the Queen of Scotland's son by her first marriage. 
Duke Antoine and his younger son, Nicholas de 
Vaudemont, Bishop of Metz, were also present, 
together with all the chief nobles of Lorraine. 

It was a strange meeting. Guise and his sons had 
often crossed swords with the Prince of Orange and 
Aerschot, and the Duke had refused to meet the 
Emperor on his memorable visit to Chantilly. Now 
he was engaged in repairing the forts along the 

^ J. B. Ravold, " Histoire de Lorraine," iii. 743; Hugo, 217; 
C. Pfister, " Histoire de Nancy," ii. 192. 

2 Balcarres Manuscripts, ii. 4 (see Appendix). 



254 CLEVES, ORANGE, LORRAINE [Bk. vil 

frontier in view of another war, an occupation which 
had at least one merit in his wife's eyes, and kept 
him longer at home than he had been for many years. 
All alike, however, friends and foes, joined in giving 
the new Duchess a hearty welcome, and drank 
joyously to the health and prosperity of the illustrious 
pair. 

At Pont-a-Mousson Francis took his bride to the 
convent of Poor Clares, to see his grandmother, 
Philippa of Guelders, who had taken the veil twenty 
years before, but still retained all her faculties, and 
was the object of her sons' devoted affection. The 
Duke of Guise and his wife constantly visited the 
good old lady, whose name appears so often in 
Antoinette's letters, and who now embraced her new 
granddaughter tenderly and gave the bridal pair her 
blessing. The next day Christina entered Nancy, 
where immense crowds assembled to receive her, and 
choirs of white-robed maidens welcomed her coming 
at the ancient gateway of La Craffe. One quaint 
medieval practice which had lasted until this century 
was dispensed with. It was the custom for a band 
of peasants from^ the neighbouring village of Laxou, 
to beat the pools in the marshes under the palace 
walls all through the night when the Princes of 
Lorraine brought their brides home, to drive away 
the frogs, whose croaking might disturb the ducal 
slumbers. But instead of this, the peasant women 
of Laxou stood at the palace gates as the Duchess 
alighted, and presented her with baskets of flowers and 
ripe strawberries and cherries.^ 

A grand tournament was held the following morn- 
ing, on the Place des Dames in front of the ducal 

^ Pfister, ii. 63, 188; Ravold, iii. 703. 



Aug., 1541] REJOICINGS AT NAN^CY 255 

palace, in which many of the Flemish nobles took 
part, and was followed by a state banquet and ball — 
" all very sumptuously done," wrote Lord William 
Howard, the English Ambassador.^ Then the wed- 
ding festivities came to an end, the gay party broke 
up, and the old city which was henceforth to be 
Christina's home resumed its wonted air of sleepy 
tranquillity. 

^ State Papers, Record Of&ce, viii. 609. 



BOOK VIII 

CHRISTINA, DUCHESS OF LORRAINE 
1541— 1545 

I. 

The ducal house of Lorraine, into which Christina 
had now married, was one of the oldest and proudest 
in Europe. The duchy took its name of Lotharingia 
from Lothair, a great-grandson of Charlemagne, who 
reigned over a vast kingdom stretching from the 
banks of the Scheldt and Rhine to the Mediterranean. 
After this monarch's death, his territories became 
the object of perpetual contention between the 
German Empire and France, and were eventually 
divided among a number of Counts and Barons who 
owned the Emperor or the French King as their 
suzerain. Godfrey of Bouillon, the leader of the first 
Crusade, was one of many illustrious Princes who 
reigned over Lorraine; but Gerard d'Alsace, who 
died in 1046, was the ancestor of the ducal house to 
which Christina's husband belonged.^ From him 
descended a long line of hereditary Princes, who were 
loyal vassals of France and took an active part in 
the wars against England. Raoul, the founder of 
the collegiate church and Chapter of St. Georges at 

^ Abbe Calmet, " Histoire Ecclesiastique et Civile de Lorraine," 
i. 190. 

256 



Jan., 1477] KING RENE 257 

Nancy, was killed fighting valiantly at Crecy, and his 
son John was taken prisoner with the French King by 
the Black Prince at Poitiers. Duke John's second son, 
Ferry, Count of Vaudemont and Joinville, fell at Agin- 
court. In 1444 this Prince's grandson. Ferry II., the 
representative of the younger branch of the House 
of Lorraine, married Yolande, daughter of Rene of 
Anjou, King of Provence, Jerusalem, and Sicily, and 
Duke of Lorraine in right of his wife, Isabella, the 
heiress of Duke Charles II. Yolande, whose sister, 
Margaret of Anjou, married Henry VI., became 
Duchess of Lorraine after the death of her nephew 
in 1473, and united the two branches of the family 
in her person. But she renounced the sovereignty in 
favour of her son, Rene II., who still bore the proud 
title of King of Sicily and Jerusalem, although, as the 
English Ambassador, Wotton, remarked, he had never 
seen either the one or the other. Rene had a fierce 
struggle for the possession of Lorraine with Charles 
of Burgundy, who defeated him completely in 1475, 
and entered Nancy in triumph. But in January, 
1477, King Rene recovered his duchy with the help 
of the Swiss, and Charles was defeated and slain in a 
desperate battle under the walls of Nancy .^ 

Ten years later Rene married Philippa of Egmont, 
sister of Charles, Duke of Guelders, and, together with 
his admirable wife, devoted the rest of his life to the 
welfare of his subjects and the improvement of the 
capital. During his reign the ducal palace, founded 
by his ancestors, in the fourteenth century, was en- 
larged and beautified, and the neighbouring church 
and convent of the Cordeliers were built. Here 
Rene was buried after his early death in 1 508, and his 

^ Hugo, 196, 200. 



258 DUCHESS OF LORRAINE [Bk.viii 

sorrowing wife reared a noble monument in which he 
is represented kneeling under a pinnacled canopy- 
crowned by a statue of the Virgin and Child .^ 

Six stalwart sons grew up under PhiHppa's watchful 
eye, to bear their father's name and maintain the 
honour of his house. The eldest, Antoine, succeeded 
Rene as Duke of Lorraine and Bar, and the second, 
Claude, became a naturalized French subject, and 
inherited the family estates in France, including 
Joinville, Guise, and Aumale. Both Princes were 
educated at the French Court, where Claude became 
the friend and companion of the future King Francis, 
and in 15 13 married Antoinette de Bourbon, the 
Count of Vendome's daughter. This lovely maiden 
was brought up with her cousins, Louis XIL's 
daughters, the elder of whom married Francis of 
Angouleme, the heir to the Crown. When, in 1515, 
this Prince succeeded his father-in-law on the throne, 
he promised the young Duke of Lorraine the hand of 
Louis XIL's widow, Mary of England; but the fair 
Dowager had already plighted her troth to Brandon, 
Duke of Suffolk, and Antoine consoled himself with 
another Princess of the blood royal, Renee de Bourbon, 
daughter of Gilbert de Montpensier and Chiara Gon- 
zaga. The wedding was celebrated at Amboise on 
the 26th of June, 1515, and Antoine and Claude both 
left their brides in Lorraine with Queen Philippa 
while they followed Francis to Italy. There they 
fought gallantly by the King's side at Marignano. 
Antoine was knighted on the field of battle, while 
Claude received a dangerous wound, and a third 
brother was slain in the melee. Two of Philippa's 
younger sons lost their lives in the French King's 

1 Calmet, iii. 325 ; A. Hallays, " Nancy " (" Villes Celebres "), 31. 



Dec, 1519] QUEEN PHILIPPA 259 

later campaigns. One was killed at Pavia, and Louis, 
the handsomest of all his handsome race, died of the 
plague in Lau tree's army before Naples. A sixth 
son, Jean, Bishop of Metz, was made a Cardinal at 
twenty, and, like his brother, Claude of Guise, became 
a prominent figure at the French Court. 

During Antoine's absence his duchy was governed 
wisely and well by his mother, Philippa; but when he 
no longer needed her help, the good Queen retired 
from the world, and on the 8th of December, 15 19, 
entered the Order of the Poor Clares at Pont-a- 
Mousson, Here she spent the remaining twenty- 
seven years of her life in works of devotion, and 
edified her family and subjects by the zeal with which 
she performed the humblest duties, going barefoot 
and wearing rough serge. But she still retained great 
influence over her sons, who were all deeply attached 
to her and often came to visit her in the convent. 
By a will which she made when she forsook the world, 
she left her furniture, jewels, and most of her property, 
to her second son, Claude, " pour aider ce jeune 
menage,"^ and the Duke and Duchess of Guise went 
to live at her dower-house of Joinville, the beau 
chdtel on the heights above the River Marne, which 
had once belonged to St. Louis's follower, le Sieur 
de Joinville. Here that remarkable woman, Duchess 
Antoinette, the mother of the Guises, reared her large 
family, the six sons who became famous as soldiers 
or prelates, and the four beautiful daughters who 
were courted by Kings and Princes. Antoine's wife, 
Renee, had not the abihty and force of character 
which made her cousin a power at the French Court, 
as well as in her own family, but she was greatly 

^ Calmet, i. 176; Hugo, 244; " Inventaire de Joinville," i. 378. 



26o DUCHESS OF LORRAINE [Bk.viii 

beloved in Lorraine, and inherited the cultivated 
tastes of her Gonzaga mother — the*sister of Elizabeth, 
Duchess of Urbino, and sister-in-law of the famous 
Isabella d'Este. Renee brought the graces and re- 
finement of the Mantuan Court to her husband's home, 
and the blossoming of art which took place at Nancy 
during Antoine's reign was largely due to her in- 
fluence. 

A whole school of local architects and painters were 
employed to adorn the ducal palace, which under his 
rule and that of his immediate successors became, in 
the words of a contemporary, " as fine a dwelling-place 
for a great Prince as could possibly be desired."^ 
King Rene had rebuilt the older portions of the house ; 
his son now added the noble gateway known as " La 
Grande Porterie," with his own equestrian statue 
carved by Mansuy Gauvain, and the magnificent 
upper gallery called " La Galerie des Cerfs," from 
the antlers and other trophies of the chase which hung 
upon its walls .2 A wealth of delicate sculpture was 
lavished on the fagade. Flowers and foliage, heraldic 
beasts and armorial bearings, adorned the portal; 
" le boeuf qui preche " — an ox's head in a pulpit — 
appeared in one corner, and on the topmost pinnacle, 
above the busts of Ren6 and Antoine, a monkey was 
seen clad in a friar's habit. Within, the vaulted 
halls were decorated with stately mantelpieces and 
richly carved friezes. Without, the roofs glittered 
with gilded copper fretwork and a tall bronze fleche, 
bearing the cross of Lorraine and the thistle of Nancy, 
crowned the " Tour du Paradis," which enclosed the 

^ H. Lepage, " Le Palais Ducal de Nancy," lo; C. Pfister, 
ii. 29; " La Ville de Nancy," 65. 
2 Pfister, ii. 26; A. Hallays, " Nancy," 37-39. 




GRANDE PORTERIE, PALAIS DUCAL, NANCY 



To /ace p. 260 



Aug., 1541] THE DUCAL PALACE 261 

fine spiral staircase leading to the Galerie des Cerfs. 
Another round tower, containing an inclined way 
broad enough for a horse and chariot, stood in the 
older part of the palace, and led up to the Treasury, 
where the Crown jewels were kept. Here, too, were 
the apartments occupied by the ducal family. On 
one side they opened on to the " Cour d'Honneur," 
where tournaments and pageants were held. On the 
other the windows looked down on the gardens, with 
their cut yews and box hedges, their arbours and 
bosquets, and in the centre a superb fountain 
adorned with putti by Mansuy Gauvain ; while beyond 
the eye ranged across the sleepy waters of the moat to 
green meadows and distant woods. ^ The grand portal 
and state-rooms at the new end of the palace looked 
down on the Grande Rue, and were only divided by a 
narrow street from the shops and stalls of the market- 
place. The fact that the Duke's house stood in the 
heart of the city naturally fostered the affection with 
which he was regarded by the people of Nancy. The 
citizens were familiar with every detail of the ducal 
family's private life, and took the deepest interest in 
their comings and goings, their weddings and funerals, 
in the guests who arrived at the palace gates, and in 
the children who grew up within its walls. 

Duke Antoine was especially beloved by his sub- 
jects. Early in life he had learnt by experience the 
horrors of war, and all through his reign he tried 
manfully to preserve a strict neutrality between the 
rival powers on either side, with the result that 
Lorraine enjoyed an unbroken period of peace and 
prosperity. The burden of taxation was lightened, 
trade and agriculture flourished, and the arts were 

^ Lepage, " Palais Ducal," 3; Pfister, ii. 188. 

18 



262 DUCHESS OF LORRAINE [Bk.viiI 

encouraged by this good Prince, who was justly called 
the " father of his people." When his beloved wife 
Renee died, in June, 1539, his sorrow was shared 
by the whole nation. 

" Since I sent my last letter," wrote the Duchess 
of Guise to her daughter in Scotland, " you will have 
heard of the death of your aunt — whom God pardon 
— a fortnight ago. The attack — a flux de ventre — 
which carried her off only lasted nine days, but she 
was enfeebled by long illness. Nature could no 
longer offer any resistance, and God in His good 
pleasure took her to Himself. She died as a good 
Christian, doing her duty by all and asking forgive- 
ness of everyone, and remained conscious to the end. 
After Friday morning she would not see her children, 
or even her husband, but, as this distressed him 
greatly, she sent for him again after she had received 
God. On Sunday she was anointed with holy oil, 
and died at ten o'clock the next evening. It was 
the tenth of June. It is a heavy loss for all our 
family, but your uncle bears up bravely. He sent for 
us, and I set out for Nancy at once, but only arrived 
there after her death. Your father, with whom I 
have been in Picardy, followed on Saturday. I have 
just returned to Pont-a-Mousson, where I came to see 
my mother-in-law, the good old Queen. The funeral 
will be on St. John's Day, and your aunt will be 
buried in the Cordeliers, opposite the tomb of the late 
King " (Rene 11.).^ 

Four days after his wife's death, Antoine himself 
sent these touching lines to his niece, the Queen of 
Scotland : 

" I was glad to hear from you the other day, 
Madame, and must tell you the great sorrow which it 
has pleased God to send me, in calling my wife to 
Himself. She died on the morrow of Pentecost. God 
be praised, Madame, for the beautiful end which she 
made, like the good Christian that she was. Com- 

^ Balcarres Manuscripts, ii. 17. 



Aug., 1541] FRANCIS OF LORRAINE 263 

mend me to the King your lord ; and if there is any 
service which I can render you or him, let me know, 
and I will do it gladly. 

" Your humble and loving uncle, 

" Antoine."^ 

Renee bore the Duke a large family, but only 
three of her children lived to grow up : Francis, 
Marquis of Pont-a-Mousson, born in 15 17; Anne, the 
Princess of Orange, who was five years younger; and 
Nicolas, Count of Vaudemont, born in 1524, who 
took Deacon's Orders, and became Bishop of Metz 
when the Cardinal of Lorraine resigned this see. 
Francis had the French King for his godfather, and 
was sent, as a matter of course, to be educated at 
the Court of France with the Dauphin. This Prince 
inherited the tall stature and regular features of his 
father's family, together with his mother's love of 
art and letters. His studious tastes and quick in- 
telligence made him the delight of all his teachers, 
and King Francis was heard to say that the Marquis 
du Pont was the wisest Prince of his age. But 
although he could ride and tilt as well as any of his 
peers, he was never robust, and the strain of melan- 
choly in his nature increased as years went by. In 
1538 the young Marquis accompanied his father to 
meet the Emperor at Aigues-Mortes, and made a very 
favourable impression on Charles, who proposed that 
he should marry one of King Ferdinand's daughters. 
Several other alliances had been already suggested 
for this promising Prince.^ In 1527, while he was 
still a boy, the fateful marriage between him and Anne 
of Cleves had been arranged; and when this was 
abandoned, King Francis first offered him one of his 
own daughters, and then his cousin, Mary of Vendome, 
^ Balcarres Manuscripts, ii. 84. 2 Jbid,^ ii. 20. 



264 DUCHESS OF LORRAINE [Bk.viii 

whom the King of Scotland had deserted for the fair 
Duchess of Longueville. At the same time 
Henry VHI. asked Castillon to arrange a marriage 
between his daughter Mary and the heir of Lorraine.^ 
But from the moment that Francis of Lorraine saw 
the Duchess of Milan at Compiegne his choice never 
wavered, and his constancy triumphed in the end 
over all difficulties. 

The lamented death of Duchess Renee, and the 
marriage of her only daughter, Anne, in the following 
year, had left the palace at Nancy without a mistress, 
and rendered Christina's presence there the more 
welcome. The old Duke was as proud of his daughter- 
in-law as his subjects were of their young Duchess, 
and Christina's frank manners and open-handed 
generosity soon made her very popular in Lorraine. 
She received a cordial welcome from Antoinette and 
the Guise Princes at Joinville, and was on the best 
of terms with her young brother-in-law, Monsieur de 
Metz. Above all, she was adored by her spouse, whose 
devotion to Christina quickly dispelled the Duchess of 
Guise's fears lest this grave and thoughtful Prince 
should not prove a good husband. His love satisfied 
every longing of her heart, and filled her soul with 
deep content. After all the storms of her early 
youth, after the lonely months at Milan and Pavia, 
after the disappointment of her cherished hopes, the 
young Duchess had found a happiness beyond her 
highest dreams. As she wrote to her old friend 
Granvelle a few months later: " My husband treats 
me so kindly, and has such great affection for me, 
that I am the happiest woman in the whole world." ^ 

^ Kaulek, 54. 

2 F. V. Bucholtz, " Geschichte d. Kaiser Ferdinand I.," ix. 141. 



Nov., 1541] A VISIT TO FONTAINEBLEAU 265 



II. 

The King of France's ill-temper was the one draw- 
back to the general satisfaction with which Christina's 
marriage had been received. The coldness with 
which he treated the Duke of Lorraine and his son, 
the sacrifice of their rights on Bar, rankled in the old 
man's heart. His surprise was the greater when he 
received a courteous invitation to bring his son and 
daughter-in-law on a visit to the French Court. His 
brother the Cardinal wrote saying that Queen 
Eleanor was anxious to see her niece, and that the 
King wished to confer the Order of St. Michel on her 
lord, and begged Duke Antoine to accompany the 
young couple to Fontainebleau. 

Christina and her husband, who since his mar- 
riage had become a strong Imperialist, were reluctant 
to accept the invitation, lest an attempt should be 
made to draw Lorraine into an alliance against the 
Emperor. But the Cardinal's bland promises and 
Antoine's anxiety to keep on good terms with the 
King prevailed over their hesitation, and early in 
November the two Dukes and the young Duchess 
spent three days at Fontainebleau. Hunting-parties 
and banquets occupied the first two days. Eleanor 
took the greatest delight in her niece's company, and 
the King, who could never resist a woman's charms, 
was assiduous in his attention to Christina. The 
Queen of Navarre's presence afforded the Duchess 
additional pleasure, and this accomplished Princess 
showed her Leonardo and Raphael's paintings, and 
did the honours of the superb palace which had 
excited the Emperor's admiration two years before. 
On the third evening the King expressed his wish 



266 DUCHESS OF LORRAINE [Bk.viii 

to confer the Order of St. Michel on the young Duke 
in so pressing a manner that it was impossible to refuse 
this offer. But an unpleasant surprise was in store 
for him and his father. The next morning the 
Cardinal informed them that the King demanded 
the cession of the town and fortress of Stenay, in 
return for the privilege of holding the duchy of Bar. 
This unexpected demand aroused an indignant 
protest from Antoine and Francis. Stenay was one 
of the bulwarks of Lorraine, and its position on the 
frontiers of Luxembourg made it of great importance 
to the defence of the empire. But nothing that the 
Duke and his son could say was of the slightest avail. 
They were told that if Stenay was not surrendered 
peaceably the King would declare war and reduce 
their country to subjection. These threats alarmed 
the old Duke to such a pitch that before leaving 
Fontainebleau he was induced to sign a treaty by 
which Stenay was given up in perpetuity to the 
French Crown. It was a grievous blow to the prestige 
of Lorraine, and filled Christina and her husband 
with grave fears for the future. The following letter 
which the Duchess wrote to Granvelle a few weeks 
afterwards shows how bitterly she resented the 
wrong : 

" You have no doubt heard of the voyage which 
the Lord Duke my father-in-law, my husband, and I, 
took to the French Court, where we made a very 
short stay, but one which turned out very badly for 
our house. For the King used violent threats to my 
father and husband, and sent my uncle the Cardinal 
to tell them that, if they did not satisfy his demands, 
he would prove their worst enemy, and make them 
the smallest people in the world. So they were com- 
pelled to give him the town of Stenay, which is a 
great loss to this house, and has vexed my husband 



Nov., 1541] THE CESSION OF STENAY 267 

and me sorely, showing us how much we are de- 
spised on that side, and to what risk of destruction we 
should be exposed if it were not for the good help of 
the Emperor, in whom I place my whole trust." ^ 

Unfortunately for the Duchess and her husband, 
Charles was at this moment engaged in his disastrous 
expedition to, Algiers. The news of the tempest 
which wrecked his fleet on the coast of Africa had 
reached the French Court, and it was confidently 
asserted that the Emperor himself had perished, or 
was a prisoner in Barbarossa's camp. These dis- 
quieting rumours were set at rest early in December 
by his safe return to Cartagena with the remnants of his 
army. But his enemies had been active in his absence. 
On the 15th of November the Duke of Lorraine set 
his seal to the deed of cession, and a week later a 
French garrison took possession of Stenay. General 
indignation was excited throughout Europe by this 
arbitrary act. Mary of Hungary entered a vigorous 
protest in her brother's name against this surrender 
of an imperial fief, and no sooner did the news reach 
Charles than he told his Ambassador to require the 
French King to do homage for the town. The new 
English Ambassador, Paget, who arrived at Fon- 
tainebleau a few days after the Lorraine Princes left 
Court, noticed that the King " looked very black, 
as if the Imperial Envoy had spoken of matters not 
all the pleasantest " ; while he informed his royal 
master that the entertainment of the Duke of Lor- 
raine had been but cold, and that he had lost all 
credit with the French.^ When Chapuys told King 
Henry at Christmas how King Francis had snatched 

^ Granvelle, " Papiers d'Etat," ii. 6i8; Bucholtz, ix. 141. 
2 State Papers, Record OfiEice, viii. 639* 644, 655 



268 DUCHESS OF LORRAINE [Bk. vill 

Stenay from the Duke of Lorraine, the EngHsh 
monarch only shrugged his shoulders, saying he had 
always known no good would come out of that 
marriage.^ 

Meanwhile Christina and her husband found some 
consolation for their wounded feelings in the friendly 
reception which they met with at Joinville, on their 
return from France. The Duke and Duchess of Guise 
came to meet them at Annonville, and were eager to 
do honour to their nephew's bride and show her the 
beauties of their stately home . They had lately decor- 
ated the halls and chapel with paintings and statues, 
and Antoinette had laid out terraced gardens along the 
wooded slopes on the River Marne, adorned with 
pavilions and fountains. Nothing escaped the eye 
of this excellent lady, who watched over the education 
of her children and the welfare of her servants, and 
managed her kitchen, stables, and kennels, with the 
same indefatigable care. Her household was a model 
of economy and prudence, and her works of mercy 
extended far beyond the Hmits of Joinville. The 
active correspondence which she kept up with her 
eldest daughter, the Queen of Scotland, abounds in 
details regarding every member of her family, and 
above all her little grandson, the Duke of Longueville. 
The Duchess's letters are naturally full of this precious 
boy, who was the pet and plaything of the whole 
household, and on whose perfections she is never 
tired of dwelling. For his mother's benefit, she sends 
minute records of his height and appearance, of the 
progress which he is making at lessons, the walks 
which he takes with his nurse. 

' Calendar of Spanish State Papers, vi. i, 436; Calendar of 
State Papers, xvi. i, O90. 



Nov., 1541] AT JOINVILLE , 269 

" We have here now," she wrote to Mary of Guise, 
on the 1 8th of November, " not only your uncle, but 
the Duke and Duchess of Bar, on their way back 
from Court. They are all making good cheer with us, 
and your father is so busy entertaining them that 
you will hardly have a letter from him this time. 
Your eldest brother [Aumale] is here too, but goes 
to join the King at Fontainebleau next week. I 
shall go to my mother [the old Countess of Vendome], 
who is quite well, and so also is the good old Queen, 
your grandmother. I have kept as a bonne bouche 
for you a word about our grandson, who will soon 
be a man, and is the finest child that you ever saw. 
I am trying to find a painter who can show you how 
tall, healthy, and handsome, he is." 

Sad news had lately come from Scotland, where the 
Queen's two children, a boy of a year old and a new- 
born babe, had died in the same week. Antoinette's 
motherly heart yearned over her absent daughter in 
this sudden bereavement. 

" Your father and I are sorely grieved at the loss 
you have suffered," she wrote to Mary; " but you are 
both young, and I can only hope that God, who took 
away those dear little ones, will send you others. . . . 
If I were good enough for my prayers to be of any 
avail with God, I would pray for this, but I can at 
least have prayers offered up by others who are better 
than I am, especially by the good Queen in her con- 
vent and her holy nuns. We are glad to hear the 
King bears his loss with resignation, and trust 
God will give you patience to live for Him in this 
world and in the next, to which tribulation is the 
surest way." 

And in a postscript she adds a word of practical 
advice, saying that she did not like to hear of the poor 
babes having so many different nurses, and fears 
this may have been one cause of the mischief.^ 

In return for this affectionate sympathy. King 

^ Balcarres Manuscripts, ii. 3, 6. 



270 DUCHESS OF LORRAINE [Bk. viii 

James sent his mother-in-law a fine diamond and a 
portrait of himself, which arrived during Christina's 
visit, and excited much interest at Joinville. All the 
Duchess of Guise's daughters were absent from home, 
the youngest, Antoinette, having joined her sister. 
Abbess Renee, in the convent at Reims, where she 
afterwards took the veil. But her eldest son, as we 
have seen, was at Joinville on this occasion. A tall, 
dark-haired, olive-skinned youth, recklessly brave 
and adventurous, Aumale was a great favourite both 
in Court and camp, and his mother had been sadly 
disappointed at the failure of the marriage negotia- 
tions, which had cost her so much time and trouble. 
The Pope's daughter, Vittoria Farnese, who was to 
have been his wife, had since then been offered in 
turn to the Prince of Piedmont and the Duke of 
Vendome, and was eventually married to the Duke 
of Urbino. Aumale himself cared little for the loss 
of the Italian bride, whom he had never seen, and had 
hitherto shown no eagerness for matrimony, but the 
sight of Christina made a deep impression upon him, 
and he never forgot his fair cousin's visit to Joinville. 
The most friendly relations prevailed between the 
two families, and frequent visits were interchanged 
during the winter. Christmas was celebrated with 
prolonged festivities at Nancy, and on the 6th of 
February the old Duke wrote from Joinville to his 
niece, the Queen of Scotland : 

" Your father and I have spent the last week 
together, and have made great cheer with all our 
family. Your son, De Longueville, is very well, and 
has grown a fine boy. 

" Your very humble and affectionate uncle, 

" Antoine."^ 

^ Balcarres Manuscripts, ii. 85. 



Feb.. 1542] CHRISTINA'S ANXIETIES 271 

In spite of these distractions, Christina found it 
difficult to make her husband forget the loss of 
Stenay. The injustice which had been done to the 
House of Lorraine still rankled in his mind, and he 
feared that the Emperor would hold him responsible 
for the surrender of the town, and regard it as an act 
of disloyalty. Christina accordingly addressed a long 
letter to Granvelle, explaining that her husband had 
been very reluctant to accept the French Order of 
St. Michel, and had only done this at his father's 
express command, before there had been any mention 
of surrendering Stenay. Now she feared that the 
King might make some fresh demand, which would 
complete the destruction of the ducal house, and could 
only beg the Emperor to help them with his advice 
and support. 

" For you may rest assured," she goes on, " that, 
whatever His Majesty is pleased to command, my 
husband and I will obey, although, as you know, my 
father-in-law is somewhat difficult to please, and we 
must do his will for the present. So I beg you 
earnestly to point this out to His Majesty, and ask 
him to give us his advice; for since our return to 
Nancy my husband has been so sad and melancholy, 
and so full of regret for the great wrong which his 
house has suffered, that I am quite afraid it will 
injure his health. Once more I beg you. Monsieur de 
Granvelle, to be a good friend to us in the present, 
as you have been in the past . . . for we have received 
so much kindness from you that I hope you will not 
hesitate to give us whatever advice seems best in 
your eyes. As for me, I am so much indebted to you 
for having helped to place me where I am, that you 
and yours will always find me ready to do you 
service. For I can never forget that it is to you I 
owe my present great happiness."^ 

^ Bucholtz, ix. 142. 



272 DUCHESS OF LORRAINE [Bk.viii 

Charles, however, wrote kindly to his niece, and 
refused to listen to the unkind tongues who tried to 
poison his mind against her husband. By degrees 
the young Duke recovered his equanimity, and 
devoted his attention to beautifying the ducal palace 
of Nancy. In the last years of Rente's life a Lor- 
raine artist, Hugues de la Faye, had been employed 
to paint subjects from the life of Christ at one end 
of the " Galerie des Cerfs," and hunting-scenes at the 
other. Christina's presence gave new impulse to the 
work, and the large quantity of gold-leaf and azure 
supplied to the painters in the Duke's service, show 
how actively the internal decoration of the palace 
was carried on. In one particular instance Chris- 
tina's influence is clearly to be traced. By Duke 
Antoine's orders, a fresco of the Last Supper was 
begun by Hugues de la Faye in the refectory of the 
Cordeliers, but was only completed after this painter's 
death in 1542, by Crock and Chappin. These two 
Lorraine artists were sent to Italy by Duke Francis 
soon after his accession, and visited Milan amongst 
other places. Here they saw Leonardo's famous 
" Cenacolo " in the refectory of S. Maria le Grazie, 
which was closely connected with the Sforza Princes, 
and must have been very familiar to Christina 
when she lived in Milan, The fresco which they 
executed at Nancy is said to have been a replica of 
Leonardo's great work, and kneeling figures of 
Antoine and Renee were introduced on the same wall, 
in imitation of the portraits of Lodovico Sforza and 
Beatrice d' Este which are still to be seen in the 
Dominican refectory at Milan. Unfortunately, the 
Lorraine masters' painting suffered a still worse fate 
than Leonardo's immortal work, and, after being 



Jan., 1542] KING HENRY'S WIVES 273 

partly spoilt by damp, was finally destroyed thirty 
years ago and replaced by a modern copy.^ 

During this winter, when Christina was happily 
settled in her new home and surrounded by loyal 
friends and subjects, news came from England of the 
trial and execution of Henry VIII.'s fifth Queen, 
Catherine Howard. When the Duke and Duchess 
were at Fontainebleau, rumours reached the Court 
that this unhappy lady, of whom Henry was deeply 
enamoured but a short time before, had been sud- 
denly banished from his presence, and taken into 
custody. " Par ma foi de gen til homme !" ex- 
claimed King Francis when he heard the account 
of the Queen's misdeeds. " She has done wondrous 
naughtily I"^ But in England, as Chapuys reported, 
much compassion was felt for the King's latest 
victim, who had dragged down the noble house of 
Howard in her fall. Lord William Howard, the 
late Ambassador, was hastily recalled from France, 
and sent to the Tower with his mother, the old 
Duchess of Norfolk. The King himself, wrote 
Chapuys, felt the case more than that of any of his 
other wives, just as the woman who had lost ten 
husbands grieved more for the tenth when he died 
than for any of the other nine ! But when the 
luckless Queen was beheaded, Henry recovered his 
spirits, and spent Carnival in feasting and enter- 
taining ladies with a gaiety which made people think 
that he meant to marry again. " But few, if any, 
ladies of the Court," remarked Chapuys, " now aspire 
to the honour of becoming one of the King's wives. "^ 

^ H. Lepage, " Le Palais Ducal de Nancy," 9; Pfister, ii. 256- 
2 State Papers, Record Office, viii. 636. 

^ Calendar of Spanish State Papers, vi. i, 473; Calendar of 
State Papers, xvi. 2, 51. 



274 DUCHESS OF LORRAINE [Bk.viii 

It was an honour to which Christina herself had 
never aspired. One day at the Court of Nancy, 
conversation turned on the King of England, and 
some indiscreet lady asked the Duchess why she had 
rejected this monarch's suit. A smile broke over 
Christina's face, and the old dimples rose to her cheeks 
as she replied that, unfortunately, she only had one 
head, but that if she had possessed two, one might 
have been at His Majesty's disposal. It was a 
characteristic speech, and has passed into history.^ 



III. 

All through the winter of 1541-42 preparations for 
war were actively carried on in France, and intrigue 
was rife among the Courts of Europe. Francis was 
determined to profit by his rival's misfortunes, in 
spite of the remonstrances of the Pope and of the 
deputies who were sent by the Imperial Diet to adjure 
him not to trouble the peace of Christendom while 
the Emperor was fighting against the Turks. By the 
end of the year he succeeded in forming a strong 
coalition, which included Scotland, Denmark, Sweden, 
and Cleves. The Palatine Frederic had once more 
pressed his wife's claims to the three kingdoms, with 
the result that Christian III. lent a willing ear to the 

^ The authenticity of this well-known saying has been often 
disputed, and was certainly never addressed by the Duchess to 
either of Henry VIII. 's Ambassadors. But Christina's words 
were recorded by Joachim Sandrart, who wrote in the seven- 
teenth century, as having been spoken by a Princess of Lorraine, 
whom the English King had wooed in vain, and were afterwards 
quoted by Horace Walpole "as the witty answer of that- Duchess 
of Milan whose portrait Holbein painted for Henry VIII." (see 
Wornum's "Life of Holbein," 311; J. Sandrart, "Deutsche 
Akademie "; and Walpole's " Anecdotes of Painting "). 



May, 1542] THE KING'S CHASE 275 

French King's advances, and sent Envoys to Fon- 
tainebleau, where a secret treaty between France 
and Denmark was signed a few days after the Duke 
and Duchess of Lorraine had left Court. Francis 
was now exceedingly anxious to draw Lorraine into 
the league and induce Duke Antoine to take up arms 
against the Emperor. In May he set out on a pro- 
gress through Burgundy and Champagne, taking the 
Queen and all the Court with him, to inspect the 
fortifications of the eastern frontier and enjoy some 
hunting on the way. " Tell the Pope," he said merrily 
to the Legate Ardinghelli, " that I do nothing but 
make good cheer and amuse myself, whether I enter- 
tain fair ladies or go a-hunting the deer." Paget and 
the other Ambassadors complained bitterly of the bad 
quarters " in peevish villages " which they had to put 
up with as they followed the King from place to 
place, wherever " great harts were to be heard of."^ 
Fortunately, he found excellent sport at the Duke of 
Guise's chateau of Esclaron, where he spent three 
weeks, and declared that he had never been so happy 
in his life. 

" The King," wrote Duchess Antoinette to Mary of 
Scotland, " has found so many big stags here that he 
says he was never in a place which pleased him 
better, and that in spite of torrents of rain and 
God knows what mud ! And you cannot think how 
fond he is of your father." ^ 

She herself went to Esclaron to receive her royal 
guest, taking the eight-year-old Duke of Longueville 
with her, to make his bow to the King and be petted 
by Queen Eleanor and her ladies. But the life of 

^ State Papers, Record Ofi&ce, viii. 641 ; Calendar of State 
Papers, xvii. 711. 

2 Balcarres Manuscripts, ii. 12. 



276 DUCHESS OF LORRAINE [Bk.viii 

a Court lady, as she told her daughter, was little to 
her taste, and she returned to Joinville early in June, 
to keep the Fete-Dieu and prepare her husband's 
and sons' equipment for the war which was expected 
to begin immediately. Two days later, on the loth 
of June, the Duke and Duchess of Bar paid the 
French King a visit at Esclaron, and were present at 
the reception of the Swedish Ambassadors, whom 
Gustavus Wasa had sent to sign the new treaty. 
The ceremony took place in a large barn hung with 
tapestries and wreathed with green boughs. The 
King and his guests sat on a raised dais, draped with 
cloth of gold, under a canopy, while the Princes of 
the blood and the other courtiers, among whom were 
no less than six Cardinals, stood below. Here Francis 
listened patiently to a long Latin harangue from 
the Swedish Ambassador, and then, coming down 
from his seat, he mingled freely in the crowd of 
Cardinals and Princes, gentlemen and yeomen, who 
stood " all in a heap " at the doors of the barn, and 
showed himself very affable, although, in Paget's 
opinion, " his manner lacked the majesty which he 
had noticed in his own master on similar occasions."^ 
Christina looked with curiosity at these Envoys 
from the Northern kingdom over which her father 
had once ruled, many of whom had known the 
captive monarch in old days. This time she and 
her husband had no cause to complain of the King's 
treatment. He was all courtesy and smiles, and 
assured them in the most cordial terms of the singular 
affection which he bore to all their house . But he soon 
saw that there was no prospect of inducing Antoine 
and his son to join him against Christina's uncle, and 

^ Calendar of State Papers, xvii. 232. 



June, 1542] THE FRENCH INVASION 277 

on the 12th of June he consented to sign an agree- 
ment by which he promised to respect the neutrahty 
of Lorraine and the properties of the Duke's subjects.^ 
After spending another week at Joinville, enjoying 
the splendid hospitahty of the Guises, he left Eleanor 
with the Duchess, and went on to Ligny, a strong 
fortress on the borders of Luxembourg, where he gave 
orders for the opening of the campaign. 

By the middle of July four separate armies had 
invaded the Emperor's dominions. Guise and 
Orleans fell upon Luxembourg, Vendome entered 
Flanders, the Dauphin attacked Roussillon, and the 
forces of Cleves, under the redoubtable Guelders 
captain, Martin van Rossem, laid Brabant waste 
with fire and sword. But they met with determined 
opposition in every quarter, and the heroism of the 
Regent and her captains saved the Netherlands 
from ruin. 

" The attack," wrote De Praet to Charles on 
September 21, 1542, " was so secretly planned and so 
well carried out that it is a miracle Your Majesty 
did not lose your Pays-Bas. We must thank God 
first of all, and next to Him the Queen, to whose 
extreme care, toil, and diligence, this is owing. "^ 

Fortunately for the Imperialists, Francis's extrava- 
gance had emptied his treasury. All his money, as 
Paget reported, was spent in building new palaces 
and buying jewels for himself and his favourites. 
Stenay and other places had been fortified at vast 
expense, and by the end of the year most of the 
French forces were disbanded for lack of funds. 

It was a sad autumn at Joinville, where the good 

^ Granvelle, "Papiersd'Etat,"ii. 628; Calendar of State Papers, 
xvii. 273. 2 Lanz, ii. 364. 

19 



278 DUCHESS OF LORRAINE [Bk. VIII 

Duchess wept and prayed for her absent lord and 
sons, and sighed to think they were fighting against 
her daughter Louise's husband and father-in-law. In 
September Guise was invalided home, and he was 
hardly fit to mount his horse again when the 
parents received the news of Louise's death, which 
took place at Brussels on the i8th of October. The 
charming Princess had always been a delicate girl, 
and now she died without leaving a child to com- 
fort the husband and father who had loved her so 
well. This sad event was followed by tidings of the 
disaster which had befallen the King of Scotland's 
army in Solway Moss, and of his death on the 
1 8th of December. Antoinette's heart bled for her 
widowed daughter, who had just given birth to an 
infant Princess at Linlithgow. " It came with a lass, 
and it will go with a lass," were the words of the King 
when he was told of the child's birth, a few days 
before he died at Falkland Palace. Both Guise and 
Aumale would gladly have hastened to Mary's help, 
but it was impossible for them to leave the camp at 
this critical moment, and Antoinette could only beg 
her daughter to keep up her courage and trust in God, 
" the Almighty, who would defend her and the poor 
little Queen, who although so young is already ex- 
posed to the insults of her enemies."^ 

It was a no less anxious time for Christina in her 
home at Nancy. From the palace roof the smoke 
of burning villages was to be seen in all directions, 
and the people of Lorraine were exposed to frequent 
raids from the hordes of irregular soldiers in both 
armies, and were compelled to raise trained bands 
for the defence of the frontiers. It was only by the 

* Balcarres Manuscripts, ii. 13. 



Jan., 1543] BIRTH OF A SON 279 

strictest observance of the laws of neutrality that an 
outbreak of actual hostilities could be avoided. 
When Aumale was badly wounded by a shot from a 
crossbow in the siege of Luxembourg, his uncle the 
Duke sternly refused to have him carried into his 
neighbouring castle of Longwy; and when Mary of 
Hungary proposed to garrison this fortress to protect 
his subjects from French aggression, he declined her 
offer firmly at the risk of incurring the imperial dis- 
pleasure.^ Christina herself spent Christmas at Fon- 
tainebleau with her aunt. Queen Eleanor. This poor 
lady was distracted with grief at the war between her 
husband and brother, and spent much time in making 
futile attempts to induce her sister, the Regent, 
to listen to peace negotiations. Early in December, 
while the King was hunting at Cognac, she sent a 
gorgeous litter to Bar to bring the Duchess to Court, 
and kept her there till the middle of January .^ 
A month afterwards — on the 13 th of February — 
Christina gave birth to her first child, a son, who 
received the name of Charles, after her imperial uncle. 
There was great rejoicing in Nancy, where the happy 
event took place, and the old Duke himself went to 
Pont-a-Mousson to bear the good news to the vener- 
able Queen Philippa, who thanked God that she had 
lived to see her great-grandson. The little Prince's 
christening was celebrated with as much festivity 
as the troubled state of the country would allow, 
and Christina's faithful friend, the Princess of Mace- 
donia, who had followed her to Lorraine, held the 
child at the font and was appointed his governess.^ 

^ Pimodan, 8i ; Bouille, i. 142. 

2 Calendar of Spanish State Papers, vi. 2, 262. 

^ Calmet, i. 265; Pfister, ii. 200. 



28o DUCHESS OF LORRAINE [Bk.VIII 

Two days before the Prince's birth a secret treaty 
between the Emperor and King Henry was concluded 
at Whitehall. Chapuys had at length attained the 
object of his untiring efforts, and De Courrieres was 
sent from Spain on a confidential mission to induce 
Henry to declare war against France. The defeat 
of the Duke of Aerschot at Sittard excited general 
alarm in Flanders, and Mary was at her wits' end for 
money and men. But the Emperor himself was 
hastening across the Alps to the help of his loyal 
provinces. The marriage of his son Philip with the 
Infanta of Portugal had been finally settled, and with 
the help of this Princess's large dowry and another 
half-million of Mexican gold, Charles was able to raise 
a large army of German and Italian troops. On the 
22nd of August he appeared in person before Dliren, 
the capital of Cleves, which surrendered within a 
week. The Duke threw himself on the victor's 
mercy, and was pardoned and invested anew with his 
hereditary duchies, while Guelders was annexed to 
the Netherlands and the Prince of Orange became 
its first Governor. William of Cleves on his part 
renounced the French alliance, and agreed to marry 
one of King Ferdinand's daughters. His previous 
marriage with Jeanne d'Albret was annulled by the 
Pope, and this resolute young Princess had the satis- 
faction of carrying her protest into effect . Encouraged 
by these successes, Charles now laid biege to Landrecy, 
the capital of Hainault, which had been captured and 
fortified by the French, and was joined by a gallant 
company of English under Lord Surrey and Sir John 
Wallop. " Par ma foi !" exclaimed the Emperor, as 
he rode down their ranks, " this is a fine body of 
gentlemen ! If the French King comes, I will live 



Nov., 1543] DUKE ANTOINE MEDIATES 281 

and die with the Enghsh."^ But Francis refused to 
be drawn into a battle, and the approach of winter 
made both armies retire from the field. 

The Duke of Lorraine took advantage of this tem- 
porary lull to mediate between the two monarchs. 
Old as he was, and suffering severely with gout, 
Antoine came to the Prince of Chimay's house with 
his son Francis, and begged for an audience with the 
Emperor and Regent, who were spending a few days 
at Valenciennes, on their way to Brussels. Charles 
sent him word not to come into his presence if he 
brought offers from the French King; but in spite 
of these peremptory orders the two Dukes arrived 
in the town on Sunday, the 17th of November, and 
were received by the Emperor after dinner, Antoine 
delivered a long oration begging His Imperial Majesty 
to make peace for the sake of Christendom, and, 
laying his hand on his breast, swore that he had 
taken this step of his own free will, without com- 
municating with any other person. The old man's 
earnestness touched Charles, who answered kindly, 
saying that he was always welcome as a cousin and a 
neighbour, and that this was doubly the case now 
that his son had married the Emperor's dearly loved 
niece. But he told him frankly that he had been 
too often deluded by false promises to listen to French 
proposals for peace, and that in any case he could do 
nothing without the consent of his ally, the King of 
England. Nothing daunted, the old Duke went on to 
visit the Regent, and was found by Lord Surrey and 
the English Ambassador Brian sitting at a table before 
a fire in the Queen's room, playing at cards. Antoine 
greeted Brian as an old friend, and asked him to 

^ Calendar of State Papers, Record Offi.ce, ix, 522. 



282 DUCHESS OF LORRAINE [Bk. vill 

drink with him. But Mary sternly refused to listen 
to the Duke's errand, being convinced that he came 
from the King, and declaring that all the gentlemen 
in his suite were good Frenchmen. When he and his 
son were gone, she called Brian to her, and said: 
" Monsieur TAmbassadeur, heard you ever so lean a 
message ?" " Madame," replied the Enghshman, 
" if the broth be no fatter, it is not worth the supping," 
a sentiment which provoked a hearty laugh from the 
Queen .^ 

Neither Queen Eleanor, who sent an entreating 
letter with a present of falcons to her sister, nor 
Cardinal Farnese, who brought fresh proposals of 
peace from the Pope, fared any better. The young 
Duchess Christina now determined to make an attempt 
herself, and came to meet her uncle at Spires when 
he attended the Diet. The ostensible reason of this 
journey was to visit her sister Dorothea, but Charles, 
divining her intention, sent the Countess Palatine 
word that if the Duchess of Bar brought proposals 
of peace she might as well stay at home. Christina, 
however, arrived at Spires on the 8th of February, 
with a train of fourteen ladies and fifteen horse, and 
spent a week with the Count and Countess Palatine. 
The sisters saw the Emperor and King Ferdinand every 
day, and were to all appearance on the most affectionate 
terms with them. But nothing transpired as to what 
passed between Christina and her uncle in private. 
On the day that she left Spires to return to Nancy, 
Frederic heard of the death of his brother, the Elector 
Palatine, and hastened to Heidelberg with Dorothea 
to attend his funeral and take possession of the rich 

^ Calendar of State Papers, xviii. 2, 216; State Papers, Record 
Of&ce, ix. 557; Bucholtz, ix. 263. 



May. 1544] EGMONT'S WEDDING 283 

Rhineland, to which he now succeeded. Six weeks 
later he returned to do homage for the Palatinate, 
and assist at the wedding of his cousin Sabina with 
Lamoral d'Egmont, the hero of so many hard-fought 
fields. The Emperor gave a sumptuous banquet in 
honour of his gallant brother-at-arms, Dorothea led 
the bride to church, and Frederic, in a fit of generosity, 
settled 14,000 florins on his young kinswoman.^ 

In this same month Ambassadors arrived at Spires 
from Christian III. of Denmark, who had quarrelled 
with the French King and was anxious to make peace 
with the Emperor. In spite of a protest from the 
Palatine, a treaty was concluded on the 23rd of May, 
by which Charles recognized the reigning monarch's 
title to the crown. So the long war, which had lasted 
twenty-one years, was at length ended, and the 
Emperor finally abandoned the cause of Christian II. 
But a clause was added by which his daughters' rights 
were reserved, and a promise given that the severity 
of his captivity should be relaxed and that he should 
be allowed to hunt and fish in the park at Sonderburg. 
Christian III. gladly agreed to these more humane 
conditions, and even offered to give Dorothea and 
Christina a substantial dowry, but the Palatine 
refused to accept any terms, and persisted in asserting 
his wife's claims .^ 

IV. 

Soon after her return from Spires, on the 20th of 
April, 1544, Christina gave birth, at Nancy, to a 
daughter, who was named Renee, after the late 
Duchess. But her happiness was clouded by the ill- 

^ Altmeyer, " Relations," etc., 476; Gachard, " Voyages de 
Charles V.," ii. 285. 

2 Schafer, iv. 462; Calendar of State Papers, xix. i, 349. 



284 DUCHESS OF LORRAINE [Bk.viii 

ness of her husband, whose health had become a 
cause of grave anxiety. Fighting was renewed with 
fresh vigour in the spring, and unexpected success 
attended the imperial arms. Luxembourg was re- 
covered by Ferrante Gonzaga, and the French in- 
vaders were expelled from most of the strongholds 
which they held in this province. The war raged 
fiercely on the borders of Lorraine, and the annoyance 
to which his subjects were exposed, induced Duke 
Antoine to make another effort at mediation. Since 
the Emperor turned a deaf ear to all appeals, he de- 
cided to apply to King Francis in person, and on the 
8th of May he set out in a litter for the French Court ; 
but when he reached Bar he was too ill to go any 
farther, and took to his bed in this ancient castle of 
his ancestors. His sons hastened to join him, and 
Christina followed them as soon as she was able to 
travel, and arrived in time to be present at her father- 
in-law's death-bed. The fine old man made his will, 
appointed his brothers, the Duke of Guise and the 
Cardinal, to be his executors, and with his last breath 
begged his son to rule Lorraine wisely and raise as 
few extraordinary taxes as possible. Above all, he 
adjured him to preserve his people from the scourge 
of war, and use every endeavour to obtain the restora- 
tion of peace. With these words on his lips, he 
passed away on the 19th of June, 1544.^ The new 
Duke was as anxious for peace as his father, but the 
moment was unpropitious for any efforts in this direc- 
tion. King Henry had at length taken the field and 
invaded Picardy with a large army, and the Emperor 
was bent on carrying the war into the heart of 
France, and urged his ally to meet him under the 

' Calmet, ii. 1196; Pfister, ii. 192. 



June, 1544] CHARLES V. IN LORRAINE 285 

walls of Paris. On the 17th of June Charles himself 
came to Metz with Maurice of Saxony and the young 
Marquis Albert of Brandenburg, the boldest warrior 
in Germany, and prepared plans for the extension 
of the campaign which Ferrante Gonzaga and the 
Prince of Orange were carrying on in Champagne. 
Here Francis of Lorraine joined him as soon as he 
was able to mount a horse, and, after spending some 
days at Metz, induced the Emperor to accompany 
him to Nassau-le-Grand, where Christina was awaiting 
him.^ On hiS way Charles stopped at Pont-a- 
Mousson, and paid a visit to Queen Philippa, the 
sister of his old enemy Charles of Guelders, for whom 
he had always entertained a genuine regard, and who 
was proud to welcome the great Emperor under her 
convent roof. Since the death of the Empress, five 
years before, Charles had formed a fixed resolution 
to end his days in some cloistered retreat, and he 
looked with admiration, not unmixed with envy, on 
the aged Queen's peaceful home, and the garden 
where she hoed and raked the borders and planted 
flowers with her own hands. It was a memorable 
day in the convent annals, and one which left pleasant 
recollections in the Emperor's breast.^ 

But although Charles was full of affection for 
Christina and her husband, he declined to receive 
the Cardinal of Lorraine, who begged for an inter- 
view, and during his brief visit not a word was 
spoken with regard to overtures of peace .^ On the 
12th of July he took leave of the Duke and Duchess, 

^ Gachard, " Voyages," ii. 289; Calendar of State Papers, 
Record Office, ix. 724. 

2 Calendar of State Papers, xix. i, 564. 

^ Calendar of State Papers, Record Office, x. 43. 



286 DUCHESS OF LORRAINE [Bk. Vlll 

and joined the Prince of Orange's camp before St. 
Dizier. This town was strongly fortified, but Rene 
had taken up his position near a bridge across the 
Marne, and opened fire from a battery of guns placed 
in the dry bed of the castle moat. Charles himself 
visited the trenches on the day of his arrival, and 
early the next morning the Prince of Orange walked 
round to inspect the artillery with Ferrante Gonzaga. 
The Marquis of Marignano was sitting in a chair, 
which had been brought there for the Emperor's use 
the day before, and, seeing the Prince, sprang to his 
feet and offered him his seat. Compliments were ex- 
changed on both sides, and the Prince finally sat 
down in the empty chair. He had hardly taken his 
seat before he was struck by a shell which, passing 
between the Viceroy and the Marquis, broke one of 
his ribs, and shattered his shoulder to pieces. They 
bore his unconscious form to the Emperor's tent, 
where he lay between life and death for the next 
forty-eight hours. The whole camp was filled with 
consternation. 

" I doubt yet what will become of him," wrote 
Wotton, who had followed Charles to the camp. " If 
he should die of it, it were an inestimable loss to the 
Emperor, so toward a gentleman he is, so well beloved, 
and of such authority among men of war." 

Before the writer had finished his letter, a servant 
came in to tell him that the Prince was gone.^ 

A Spanish officer on the spot wrote a touching 
account of the Prince's last moments. From the 
first the doctors gave Httle hope, and when the Em- 
peror heard of Rene's critical state he hastened to 
the wounded hero's bedside, and knelt down, holding 

^ State Papers, Record Office, ix. 733. 



July, 1544] DEATH OF RENE 287 

his hand in his own. The Prince knew him, and 
begged him as a last favour to confirm the will which 
he had made a month before, and take his young 
cousin and heir, William of Nassau, under his pro- 
tection. Charles promised to do all in his power for 
the boy, and, with tears streaming down his face, 
kissed the Prince's cheek before he passed away. 

" His Majesty the Emperor," continued the same 
writer, " saw him die, and after that retired to his 
chamber, where he remained some time alone without 
seeing anyone, and showed how much he loved him. 
The grief of the whole army and of the Court are so 
great that no words of mine can describe it."^ 

From all sides the same bitter wail was heard. 
There was sorrow in the ancient home at Bar, where 
Rene's marriage had been celebrated with great re- 
joicing four years before. The Duke and Duchess 
wept for their gallant brother-in-law, and Christina 
thought, with tender regret, of the hero who in 
youthful days had seemed to her a very perfect 
knight. The sad news was sent to De Courrieres at 
the English camp before Boulogne, by his Lieutenant 
of Archers, and the veteran shed tears over the 
gallant Prince whom he had often followed to victory. 
Great was the lamentation at Brussels when the truth 
became known. Nothing but weeping was heard in 
the streets, and Queen Mary retired to the Abbey of 
Groenendal to mourn for the loss which the Nether- 
lands had sustained by Rene's untimely death. ^ In 
his own city of Breda the sorrow was deeper still. 
There his faithful wife, Anne of Lorraine, was waiting 
anxiously for news from the battle-field. Her father 

^ Calendar of Spanish State Papers, vii. 267. 
2 Calendar of State Papers, xix. i, 608; Calendar of Spanish 
State Papers, vii. 280. 



288 DUCHESS OF LORRAINE [Bk. vm. 

had died a few weeks before, and now her lord was 
torn from her in the flower of his age, and she was left 
a childless widow. Early in the year she had given 
birth to a daughter, who was christened on the 25th of 
February, and called Mary, after her godmother, the 
Queen of Hungary, but who died before she was a 
month old. Now report said that she was about to 
become a mother for the second time, but her hopes 
were once more doomed to disappointment. By Rene's 
last will, his titles and the greater part of his vast 
estates passed to his cousin William of Nassau, a boy 
of eleven, while a large jointure and the rich lands of 
Diest were left to Anne for her life.^ The Prince's 
corpse, clad in the robes of a knight of the Golden 
Fleece, was borne to Breda, and buried with his 
forefathers; but his heart was enshrined in the 
Collegiate Church of Bar, among the tombs which 
held the ashes of his wife's ancestors. On his death- 
bed Rene had expressed a wish that a representation 
of his face and form, not as he was in life, but as they 
would appear two years after death, should be carved 
on his tomb . This strange wish was faithfully carried 
out by Anne of Lorraine, who employed Ligier- 
Richier, the gifted Lorraine sculptor, to carve a 
skeleton with upraised hand clasping the golden 
casket which contained the dead hero's heart. The 
figure, carved in fine stone of ivory whiteness, was, 
as it were, a literal rendering of the words, " Though 
after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my 
flesh shall I see God." At the Revolution, the 
Collegiate Church of Bar, with the chapel of the 
Lorraine Princes, which Montaigne called the most 

^ Calendar of State Papers, xix. i, 71 ; Groen v. Prinsterer, 
" Archives de la Maison d'Orange," i. i. 



Aug., 1544] LA SQUELETTE DE BAR 289 

sumptuous in France, was entirely destroyed; but 
Rene's monument was saved and placed in the Church 
of St. Etienne, where it is commonly known as " La 
Squelette de Bar."^ 

The memory of this popular Prince lingered long 
in the land of his birth, and his fame lived in the 
songs of Flanders and Holland for many generations. 
One of the best known begins with the lines : 

" C'est le Prince d'Orange, 
Trop matin s'est leve, 
II appela son page, 
Mon Maure, est-il bride ? 
Que maudit soit la guerre — 
Mon Maure, est-il bride P"^ 

And so the story goes on through many stanzas, 
which tell how, in spite of his wife's dark forebodings, 
the hero rode out to the wars to fight against the 
French, how he met with his fatal wound, and never 
came home again. 

V. 

The Prince's death threw a gloom over the im- 
perial camp, but did not diminish the warlike ardour 
of his battalions, who swore with one voice that they 
would avenge their leader. On the 17th of August 
St. Dizier at length surrendered. " A right dear- 
bought town," wrote Wotton, " considering the 
number of men lost in the assault, and chiefly the 
inestimable loss of that noble Prince." Ferrante 
immediately sent a troop of light horse, with Fran- 
cesco d' Este at their head, against Joinville, the 
splendid home of the Guises, although, as Wotton 
remarked, this was rather a house of pleasure than a 

^ C. Cournault, " Ligier-Richier," 28. 

2 R. Putnam, " William the Silent, Prince of Orange," ii, 435. 



290 DUCHESS OF LORRAINE [Bk. viii 

stronghold. The castle was spared by order of the 
Emperor for the sake of his niece Christina, who 
begged him not to add to the Princess of Orange's 
grief by destroying her uncle's house; but the town 
and churches were sacked and set on fire, and the 
beautiful gardens, with their fine water-shows and 
temples, were destroyed.^ The news was received 
with consternation in Paris, where Antoinette and 
her grandson had taken refuge, and the Duchess's 
brother. Cardinal Bourbon, wrote to the Scottish 
Queen telling her of the report that the enemy had 
burnt down Joinville, which had fortunately proved 
to be false. " The destruction of such a beautiful 
house," he adds, " would indeed have been sad."^ 
This calamity had been averted by Christina, but, in 
their anger at the damage done by the imperial 
troops, the Guise Princes hardly remembered the debt 
that they owed her. The King was furious, and in 
the first burst of his indignation sent the Duke of 
Lorraine a message, threatening to destroy him and 
all his house. The Duke now determined to go to 
the French Court to defend himself from these charges 
and see if it were possible to make proposals of peace 
in this quarter. The Emperor's rapid advance had 
excited great alarm in Paris. Even the King awoke 
to a sense of danger, and said to Margaret of Navarre, 
the sister to whom he turned in all his worst troubles, 
" Ma mignonne, pray God to spare me the disgrace 
of seeing the Emperor encamped before my city of 
Paris." Queen Eleanor, in her distress, sent a 
Dominican friar in whom she had great confidence — 

^ Bouille, ii. 148; Pimodan, 183; Oudin, " Histoire des Guises," 
Bib. Nat., f. 118; Calendar of State Papers, Record Ofl&ce, x. 6, 43. 
2 Calendar of State Papers, xix. 2, 63. 



Aug., 1544] THE DUKE'S ILLNESS 291 

Don Gabriel de Guzman — to implore her brother to 
hear her prayers. But Charles was still obdurate. 
He received Francis of Lorraine in the camp after 
the Prince of Orange's death, but when he heard 
that his nephew was going to the French Court, he 
sent Montbardon to beg the Duchess, " as she loved 
him," not to let her husband go to France so soon 
after he had seen him, lest people should think that 
he was sent by the Emperor to treat of peace. 

Christina replied in a letter written, as Wotton re- 
marked, in her own hand, telling her uncle that she 
had sent a servant post-haste to overtake her husband, 
but that he was already at Chalons, and had gone 
too far to retrace his steps. In spite of this manful 
attempt, the Duke never reached Paris; he fell from 
his horse in a fainting fit at Epernay, and was brought 
back in a litter to Bar, where Christina nursed him 
for several weeks .^ His efforts, however, proved 
more effectual than he had expected. The Emperor's 
precautions were necessary owing to the jealousy 
with which the English King regarded every proposal 
of peace on the part of his ally, but in reality Charles 
was almost as eager as Francis to put an end to the 
war. His resources were exhausted, the plague was 
raging in Luxembourg and Flanders, and he realized 
the danger of advancing into the enemy's country 
with the Dauphin's army in his rear, while his hopes 
of the English march on Paris had been disappointed 
by Henry's delays before Montreuil and Boulogne. 
Under these circumstances he felt that he could no 
longer refuse to treat with his foes. On the 29th of 
August, a week after the Duke had started on his 
unfortunate journey. Admiral I'Annebaut and the 

^ Calendar of Spanish State Papers, vii. 296-298. 



292 DUCHESS OF LORRAINE [Bk. Vlll 

French Chancellor were admitted into the Emperor's 
presence, in the camp near Chalons, and conferences 
were opened between them and Granvelle, with the 
happy result that on the 19th of September peace 
was signed at Crepy-en-Laonnois. 

By this treaty the Duke of Orleans was to be given 
either the Emperor's daughter in marriage, with the 
reversion of the Netherlands as her dower, or else one 
of his Austrian nieces with the immediate possession 
of Milan. In return Francis was to renounce his 
claims on Naples and Artois, restore the Duke of 
Savoy's dominions, and endow his son with large 
estates and revenues. All the towns and fortresses 
which had been captured during the recent war 
were to be restored, including Stenay, which, as 
Charles pointed out, the King of France " had 
seized in the strangest manner, and held by force 
without paying homage, although it is notoriously 
a fief of the empire."^ As soon as peace was signed, 
Granvelle's son, the young Bishop of Arras, was 
sent to ask the English King to become a party 
to the treaty; but Henry, who had just taken 
Boulogne after a long siege, quite refused, and pro- 
fessed great surprise to hear that the Emperor had 
agreed to terms which seemed to him more befitting 
the vanquished than the victor. On the other hand, 
a strong party at the French Court complained that 
the rights of the Crown were sacrificed to the personal 
aggrandisement of Orleans, and on the 12th of 
December the Dauphin signed a secret protest against 
the treaty, which was witnessed by Vendome and 
Aumale.2 But in the provinces where war had been 

^ Calendar of Spanish State Papers, vii. 305. 
2 Ibid., vii. I, 350, 355. 



Sept., 1544J DUKE ANTOINE'S funeral 293 

waging, peace was welcomed with thankfulness, and 
the ruler and people of Lorraine could once more 
breathe freely. 

The Duke of Lorraine was now able to convey his 
father's body from the Castle of Bar, where he had 
died, to Nancy. On the 15th of September he and 
his brother set out at the head of the funeral pro- 
cession, along roads lined with crowds of people 
weeping for the good Duke who had ruled the land so 
well. But since it was impossible for the Duke of Guise 
and his family to come to Nancy at present, the last 
rites were put off till the following year, and the old 
Duke's remains were left to repose for the time in 
the Church of St. Georges.^ Little dreamt these loyal 
subjects that before the year was over the young 
Duke, on whom their hopes were fixed, would himself 
be numbered with the dead, and lie buried in his 
father's grave. But for the moment all was well. 
The return of peace was hailed with rejoicing, and 
the restitution of Stenay removed a blot from the 
scutcheon of Lorraine, while the independence of the 
duchy was confirmed by a decree of the Diet of Nurem- 
berg, to which the Emperor gave his sanction.^ 

The Duke and Duchess received a pressing invita- 
tion to join in the festivities that were held at Brussels 
to celebrate the peace. Charles and Mary arrived 
there on the ist of October, and were shortly followed 
by Queen Eleanor, bringing in her train the Duke of 
Orleans and the Duchess of Etampes, who had used 
all her influence with the King to bring about peace, 
chiefly from jealousy of the Dauphin and his mistress, 
Diane de Poitiers. The burghers of Brussels gave 

^ Calmet, ii. 11 96; Pfister, ii. 192. 

- Calmet, ii. 1281; Ravold, 744; Pfister, ii. 188; Calendar of 
Spanish State Papers, vi. 2, 262. 

20 



294 DUCHESS OF LORRAINE [Bk. viii 

the imperial family a magnificent entertainment at 
the hotel -de-ville, and presented Eleanor with a 
golden fountain of exquisite shape and workmanship ; 
while the Emperor lavished costly presents on his 
guests, and gave the Queen of Hungary the fine 
domains of Binche and Turnhout in gratitude for her 
services. Unfortunately, Christina was detained at 
Nancy by a return of her husband's illness, and did 
not reach Brussels till the 4th of November. By 
this time Eleanor had set out on her return, and 
Christina, eager to see her aunt, followed her to 
Mons, and spent two days in her company. On the 
7th the Duchess came back to Brussels with her 
brother-in-law, Nicolas de Vaudemont, and remained 
with her uncle and aunt during a fortnight. It was 
her first visit to Brussels since her wedding, more 
than three years before, and old friends and faces 
welcomed her on all sides. But one familiar figure 
was missing, and she found a melancholy pleasure in 
the company of her sister-in-law, the widowed Prin- 
cess of Orange, whom she saw for the first time since 
her gallant husband's death. Charles treated his 
niece with marked kindness, and gave her a superb 
necklace of pearls and diamonds as a parting present.^ 
The winter was spent happily at Nancy, where the 
new Duke and Duchess made themselves popular 
with all classes. Francis gave free rein to his love 
of art and letters, and encouraged scholars and artists 
by his enlightened patronage. He took passionate 
delight in music, and was never happier than when he 
could surround himself with the best singers and 
players on the lute and viol. Christina shared his 

^ Henne, viii. 212-215; T. Juste, "Marie de Hongrie," 120; 
Calendar of State Papers, xix. 2, 340. 



Feb., 1545] PEACE AND PROSPERITY 295 

artistic tastes, and was greatly interested in the im- 
provements of the ducal palace. Together they made 
plans for the decoration of its halls and gardens, 
and for the construction of new buildings and churches 
in different parts of Lorraine, while the Court painters. 
Crock and Chappin, were sent to Italy to collect 
antiques and study the best examples of art and 
architecture.^ At the same time Christina took deep 
interest in the condition of her humbler subjects, and 
tried to relieve distress by founding charitable institu- 
tions on the pattern of those in Flanders. A new 
period of peace and prosperity seemed to have 
dawned on Lorraine, and everything promised a long 
and happy reign. 

By the end of the year the Duke and Duchess 
of Guise returned to Joinville, and were actively 
engaged throughout the winter in rebuilding the 
ruined town and repairing the damage done by the 
imperial soldiery. Old quarrels between the two 
houses were forgotten, and friendly intercourse was 
renewed. In February the Duke and Duchess of 
Lorraine were present in the chapel of Joinville, at 
the consecration of Guise's son Charles, as Archbishop 
of Reims, and in March the Cardinal of Lorraine came 
to Nancy to discharge the duties of executor to the 
late Duke. Antoine had provided liberally for all his 
children. Nicolas de Vaudemont, his younger son, 
received a sum of 15,000 crowns, and Christina gave 
her brother-in-law a handsome present of furniture, 
to help him in setting up house. Some lordships near 
Joinville were left to the Duke of Guise, and every- 
thing was amicably arranged.^ 

^ Pfister, ii. 256; H. Lepage, " La Ville de Nancy," 65. 

2 Calendar of Spanish State Papers, viii. 102; Bouille, i. 244. 



296 DUCHESS OF LORRAINE [Bk. viil 

Suddenly the Duke fell ill for the third time, and 
during several days his life was in danger. Wotton 
was convinced that he had been poisoned by his 
French enemies, and so alarming were the reports 
which reached Brussels, that the Emperor wrote 
privately to his new Ambassador in Paris, Granvelle's 
brother-in-law, St. Mauris, begging him to keep a 
watchful eye on the affairs of Lorraine, lest Guise 
and the Cardinal should take advantage of their 
nephew's condition to seize his domains. But this 
time Francis recovered once more, and was able to 
make his solemn entry into Nancy on the i6th of 
April. At the Porte St. Nicolas he was met by the 
three orders — the nobles, clergy, and people — and 
walked on foot, with Nicolas de Vaudemont at his 
side, followed by his Ministers, to the Church of St. 
Georges. Here, kneeling at the high-altar, he kissed 
the relic of the True Cross, and took a solemn oath 
to respect the privileges of the people of Lorraine 
and the liberties of the city of Nancy. After this a 
Te Deum was chanted and a banquet held in the ducal 
palace.^ The next week, by the advice of his doctors, 
Antoine Champier and Nicolas le Pois, he went to 
Blamont, in the hope that the invigorating air of the 
hills might complete his cure; but he grew weaker 
every day, and was subject to frequent fainting fits of 
an alarming nature. In her anxiety, Christina sent 
to Strasburg and Fribourg for well-known physicians, 
and Mary of Hungary despatched her own doctor to 
Nancy, and consulted eminent doctors in London 
and Paris on the patient's symptoms .^ But all 

1 Calendar of Spanish State Papers, viii. 195; Pfister, ii. 192; 
Granvelle, "Papiers d'Etat," iii. no. 

2 Ravx)ld, iii. 764; Calmet, ii. 1276. 



JUNE, 1545J FRANCIS'S DEATH 297 

was of no avail, and as a last resource the Duke was 
carried in a litter to Remiremont, his favourite 
shooting-lodge in the heart of the Vosges. It was 
the end of May, and the beautiful woods along the 
mountain slopes were in the first glory of their 
spring foliage. For a moment it seemed as if his 
delight in the beauty of the place and the life-giving 
influence of sunshine and mountain air would restore 
him to health. But already the hand of Death was 
upon him. On the Fete-Dieu he became much worse, 
and his end was evidently near ; but he was perfectly 
conscious, and, sending for a notary, he made his last 
will, appointing his wife Regent of the State and 
guardian of her little son and daughter, and commend- 
ing her and his children to the Emperor's care. After 
this he received the last Sacraments, and passed quietly 
away on Friday, the 12th of June. He was not yet 
twenty-eight, and had reigned exactly one year.^ 
Death had once more severed the marriage tie, and 
Christina, who but lately called herself the happiest 
woman in the world, was left stricken and desolate, 
a widow for the second time, at the age of twenty- 
three. 

^ Pfister, ii. 192. 



BOOK IX 

CHRISTINA, REGENT OF LORRAINE 
1545— 1552 

I. 

The premature death of her husband left Christina 
in a position of exceptional difficulty. Everything 
combined to add to her distress. She herself was in 
delicate health, expecting the birth of another child 
in a few weeks, her only son was an infant of two 
years and a half, and she had not a single near relative 
or tried Minister to give her the help of his counsel 
and experience. The Duke had appointed her Regent 
of Lorraine during his son's minority, but even before 
he breathed his last, her claims to this office were dis- 
puted. Although Christina herself was popular with 
all classes of her son's subjects, there was a strong 
party in Lorraine which dreaded the influence of her 
powerful uncle. At the head of this party was the 
Rhinegrave, Jean de Salm, an able nobleman who 
had always been French in his sympathies, and who 
now seized the opportunity of the Duke's last illness 
to advance the claims of Monsieur de Metz, seeing that 
this young Prince would be an easy tool in his hands. 
At ten o'clock on the Fete-Dieu, when the Duke 
had received the last Sacraments, the Count de Salm 
entered his room with Nicolas de Vaudemont, and 



June, 1545] VAUDEMONT'S CLAIMS 299 

thus addressed him: " Monseigneur, if it please God 
to call you to himself, do you wish that Monsieur de 
Metz, your brother, should have a share in the 
administration of your State and the care of your 
children, without prejudice to the arrangements 
which you have already made, by word and in writing, 
with your august wife the Duchess ?" The dying 
Prince, who was hardly conscious, murmured a faint 
" Yes," upon which the Count summoned a notary 
to write down the Duke's last wishes, and proceeded 
to jead the document to the Duchess in the presence 
of her servants.^ Christina, in her bitter distress, 
paid little heed to this interruption, and was only 
anxious to return to her dying husband's bedside; 
but immediately after his death she found herself 
compelled to face the question. Owing to her 
delicate state of health, she decided to put off the 
Duke's funeral, as well as that of his father, until 
the following year. A week after his death she joined 
her young children at her dower-house of Denceuvre, 
and at the same time the Duke's body was removed 
by Count de Salm, as Marshal of Lorraine, to the 
collegiate church of this place, and buried in a tem- 
porary grave, after lying in state during three days. 

The Emperor was at Worms with the Elector 
Palatine and his wife when the news of the Duke of 
Lorraine's death reached him, and sent Montbardon 
at once to his niece with letters of condolence. 
Christina availed herself of this opportunity to ask 
her uncle's advice regarding the deed drawn up by 
Jean de Salm. Charles, realizing the critical nature 
of the situation, immediately sent one of his most 
trusted servants, Frangois Bonvalot, Abbot of Luxeuil, 

^ Ca,lraet, ii. 1276, iii. 47; Granvelle, " Papiers d'Etat," iii. 152. 



300 REGENT OF LORRAINE [Bk. IX 

to Nancy, with orders to assure the Duchess of his 
protection, and if possible secure her the Regency 
and sole charge of her children. Bonvalot was the 
brother of Granvelle's wife, the excellent Madame 
Nicole, and had only lately resigned the office of 
Ambassador at Paris, and retired to Besangon to 
administer the affairs of this diocese as coadjutor of 
the Bishop. No one was better fitted to help the 
widowed Duchess than this statesman, who was 
intimately acquainted with the intrigues of the Guise 
Princes and the French Court. He hastened to 
Denoeuvre without delay, and, as soon as he had seen 
Christina, wrote the following letter to his brother- 
in-law, St. Mauris, giving a clear and graphic account 
of the situation : 

" My Brother, 

" The Emperor, having been informed of Mon- 
sieur de Lorraine's death, has sent me here to help his 
niece the Duchess, and to secure her the administration 
of the State and the guardianship of her children, which 
belongs to her by right and reason, but which Monsieur 
de Metz is trying to claim, by virtue of the custom of 
this country, as well as of certain acts somewhat 
suspiciously passed by the Count de Salm and other 
of the nobles when the late Lord Duke was in ex- 
tremis. . . . His Majesty, being anxious to comfort 
the said lady in her great affliction, and act the part 
not only of a good uncle, but of a true father, has sent 
me here to give her advice and help, and begs you to 
tell the Most Christian King the wrong which has 
been done her in this strange fashion, and which His 
Imperial Majesty will never allow, because of the close 
relation in which this lady stands to him. He hopes 
that the King will join with him in this, for the sake 
of the friendship which he has ever borne to this 
house and to this widowed lady and her orphan 
children, whose fathers and protectors their two 
Majesties ought to be. His Imperial Majesty begs the 
King most earnestly not to allow the said lady to be 



June, 1545] CHRISTINA'S DIFFigULTIES 301 

deprived of this Regency to which Monsieur de Metz 
pretends, in spite of common right and the ancient 
custom of Lorraine, as the Count of Salm's deed 
abundantly shows, since this would have been super- 
fluous if the custom were such as he pretends it to 
be. You will lay these same reasons before the 
Cardinal and Monsieur de Guise. If you are told that 
Queen Yolande resigned the government of Lorraine 
in favour of her son, you will reply that this was done 
of her own free choice; and if any person objects 
that the mother of the late Duke Antoine and the 
Cardinal and Sieur de Guise did not retain the ad- 
ministration after her husband's death, you will point 
out that the said Duke was of full age, and that the 
said lady was content to lay down the government 
on this account. . . . And, further, you will inquire 
what the King intends to do in the matter, and if 
he means to support Monsieur de Metz or take any 
steps prejudicial to the said lady and the tranquillity of 
these lands, and will inform His Imperial Majesty 
and myself of these things without delay." ^ 

When Bonvalot wrote this letter from Denoeuvre, 
on the 27th of June, the young Archbishop of Reims 
had already arrived there, with an agreement drawn 
up by his uncle the Cardinal, which he submitted 
to the Duchess for approval. He informed the Abbot 
that King Francis trusted the said lady would avoid 
all occasion of strife, which, as Bonvalot remarked, 
was exactly what the Emperor wished, and Monsieur de 
Metz, by his singular action, had done his best to pre- 
vent. In this difficult situation Christina showed re- 
markable good sense and tact. She told Bonvalot 
frankly that she would gladly avail herself of her 
brother-in-law's help in the administration of public 
affairs, and wished to treat him with perfect friendliness 
as long as she retained the sole charge of her children 
and the chief authority in the State. Accordingly, 

^ Granvelle, iii. 159-163. 



302 REGENT OF LORRAINE [Bk. ix 

the agreement proposed by the Cardinal was adopted, 
with some modifications, and signed at Denoeuvre, on 
the 6th of August, by Christina, Nicolas, the Count 
de Salm, and other chief officials of Lorraine. The 
Duchess and her brother-in-law were appointed joint 
Regents, and were to affix their seal to all public 
deeds. Vaudemont was given a key of the Treasury, 
and was allowed the patronage of one out of every 
three vacant offices; but the real authority, as well 
as the care of her children, was vested in the Duchess. 
Bonvalot told the Emperor that, under the circum- 
stances, this was the best arrangement that could be 
made, and Charles of Lorraine and his family had 
nothing but praise for the Duchess's good-will and 
moderation.^ 

A fortnight later, Christina gave birth to her second 
daughter, who was named Dorothea, after the Countess 
Palatine. But the severe mental strain which the 
mother had undergone affected the child, who was a 
cripple from her birth. On the 5th of November the 
Treaty of Denceuvre was ratified by the States assem- 
bled at Neufchateau, not, however, without consider- 
able discussion. Some of the nobles tried to limit the 
Regents' powers, and managed to insert a provision 
that none but Lorrains should hold offices of State, 
a measure clearly aimed at the Flemings and Bur- 
gundians in the Duchess's service. Nicolas de 
Vaudemont, being young and inexperienced, agreed 
readily to these demands, which drew forth a strong 
protest from the Emperor and Mary of Hungary. To 
add to Bonvalot's dissatisfaction, Monsieur de Metz 
accompanied the Archbishop on his return to France, 

* Calendar of Spanish State Papers, viii. 195; Granvelle, 
iii, 226. 



Nov., 1545] HER TACT AND WISDOM 303 

without even informing Christina of his intention. 
In spite of these provocations, she maintained the 
same concihatory attitude, and her prudence and 
modesty excited the Abbot's sincere admiration. 
The Emperor addressed an affectionate letter to his 
niece, assuring her of his fatherly love and protection, 
and saying that he would never cease to regard her 
interests as his own. " And it will be a great pleasure 
to me," he adds, " if you will often write to me, and 
I on my part will let you hear from me in the same 
manner."^ 

Christina now returned to spend Christmas at 
Nancy, and settled in the ducal palace with her 
children. Monsieur de Metz gave up his bishopric, 
and renouncing the ecclesiastical profession adopted 
the style of Count of Vaudemont. But he showed no 
further disposition to make himself disagreeable to 
his sister-in-law, and their mutual relations were 
rendered easier by the presence of the Princess of 
Orange, who spent most of the year at Nancy. The 
two widowed Princesses were drawn together by 
that tenderest of ties, the memory of those whom 
they had loved and lost. Henceforth they became 
the dearest and closest of friends. During all the 
troubles and sorrows of the next twenty years Anne's 
loyalty to her sister-in-law remained unshaken. Her 
strong common-sense and practical qualities, her 
coolness and courage in emergencies, were a great 
support to Christina, while the confidence that Mary 
of Hungary reposed in her proved no less valuable. 
The harmony of the family circle continued unbroken, 
and the internal administration of Lorraine was 
carried on as peaceably as before. The conduct of 

^ Lanz, ii. 478-484. 



304 REGENT OF LORRAINE [Bk. ix 

foreign affairs presented far greater difficulties, and 
all Christina's prudence was needed to steer the 
way safely through the rocks that lay in her course. 

In spite of his friendly professions, the French 
King, it soon became evident, was likely to prove a 
troublesome neighbour. As Wotton wrote when 
Francis of Lorraine died, " If the sweet, vain hope 
of the delivery of Milan did not let him, I think the 
Duke's death might easily provoke the French King 
to attempt somewhat on Bar and Lorraine."^ Even 
before her husband's death, Christina had been in- 
volved in a long correspondence regarding Stenay, 
which the French refused to give up until Duke 
Antoine's letters surrendering the town could be 
produced. The missing papers were at length dis- 
covered in possession of the French Governor, De 
Longueval, who had maliciously concealed them, and 
the town was evacuated at the end of August, 1545. 
Ten days afterwards the Duke of Orleans died of the 
plague at Abbeville, in his twenty-fifth year. The 
loss of this favourite son was a heavy blow to Francis. 
" God grant," he wrote to the Emperor, in an outburst 
of deep emotion, " that you may never know what it 
is to lose a son !" The event, as it happened, proved 
most opportune for Charles, who was released from 
the unpleasant necessity of giving his daughter or 
niece to a worthless Prince, with Milan or the Nether- 
lands as her dower. But it naturally provoked 
Francis to demand fresh concessions and revive his 
old claim to Milan. 

The effect of this new quarrel was to increase 
Christina's difficulties. When the French at length 
abandoned Stenay, it was found that not only the 

^ State Papers, Record Office, Henry VIII., x. 490. 



June, 1546] THE CITADEL OF STENAY 305 

recent fortifications had been destroyed, as agreed 
upon in the Treaty of Crepy, but that the old walls 
of the town had been pulled down. Mary of Hungary 
justly complained that the defenceless state of Stenay 
was a grave cause of danger to Luxembourg, and 
urged her brother to garrison the town, declaring, if 
war broke out, the Duchess would be unable to main- 
tain the neutrality of Lorraine. Charles, who had 
already left the Netherlands to attend the Diet of 
Regensburg, now invited his niece to meet him at 
Waldrevange, on the frontiers of Luxembourg, and 
discuss the matter. Christina obeyed her uncle's 
summons gladly, and assured him that she was quite 
alive to the importance of Stenay, and had already 
asked her subjects' help in rebuilding the town walls. 
But since the presence of an imperial force might 
excite suspicion, she proposed to place a young 
Luxembourg Captain named Schauwenbourg in 
command of the garrison. The plan met with Charles's 
approval; but Mary was by no means satisfied, and 
begged the Emperor to insist on an oath of allegiance 
to himself being taken by the garrison and burghers. 
Charles repHed that no doubt the best plan would 
be to keep Stenay altogether, but that this would be 
a direct violation of the Treaty of Crepy, as well as 
a wrong to the little Duke, and might stir up the 
French " to make a great broil." ^ 

The invaluable Bonvalot was now called in, and 
accepted Christina's invitation to attend the funeral 
of the two Dukes on the 14th of June. But when 
the Abbot reached Nancy, he found that only Duke 
Antoine's obsequies were about to be solemnized, 
and that the Duchess had deferred those of her hus- 

^ Granvelle, iii. 206-225. 



3o6 REGENT OF LORRAINE [Bk. ix 

band in compliance with a request from the Guise 
Princes. On the day after the old Duke's funeral, 
Bonvalot had a long interview with Christina, who 
expressed her anxiety to meet her aunt's wishes, 
and explained that Vaudemont was only afraid of 
arousing the suspicions of the French. While she 
was speaking, Nicolas himself came in and told the 
Abbe how grateful he felt to the Emperor for the 
affection which he showed to his little nephew, and how 
fully he realized the importance of defending Stenay, 
but that he dared not risk exciting the displeasure 
of Francis, who was already advancing a thousand 
new claims on Bar. The members of the Ducal 
Council, to whom the matter was referred, expressed 
the same opinion, telling Bonvalot that they looked 
to the Emperor as their father and protector, and 
would guard Stenay as the apple of their eye. The 
Abbot was satisfied with these assurances, and 
advised the Emperor to leave the matter in his 
niece's hands. Charles had empowered him to offer 
Nicolas the restitution of the Abbey of Gorzes, which 
he had formerly held, and which the Imperialists 
had recovered from the French and rebuilt at con- 
siderable expense. But Christina would not hear 
of this, saying that her brother-in-law cared more 
for the good of the State than for his private advan- 
tage, and Nicolas himself told Bonvalot that he would 
not endanger his nephew's realm for ten wealthy 
abbeys. 

" As for madame your niece, Sire,'^ wrote the 
Abbot, " I have always found her most anxious to 
please Your Majesty, at whatever cost. But as a 
mother she naturally fears to run any risks which 
might injure her children, and would, if possible, 
avoid these perils. She begged me, with tears in her 



July, 1546] THE GUISE FAMILY 307 

eyes, to make Your Majesty understand this, and 
have pity upon her, trusting that you will be content 
with the promises of the Council, or else find another 
and less dangerous way of defending Stenay. Sire, 
I could not refuse to give you this message, in obe- 
dience to Her Highness's express commands, and beg 
you very humbly to take them in good part."^ 

So the incident closed, and for the time being 
nothing more was heard of Stenay. 



II. 

The Duke of Guise and his family now stood higher 
than ever in the King's favour. His eldest son, 
Aumale, was dangerously wounded in the siege of 
Boulogne by an English spear, which penetrated so 
deeply into his forehead that the surgeon could only 
extract the steel by planting his foot on the patient's 
head. After this ordeal the Count lay between life 
and death for several weeks, and owed his recovery 
to the tender nursing of his mother, who preserved 
as a trophy at Joinville the English spearhead which 
so nearly ended her son's career .^ As soon as he 
was able to move, the King sent for Antoinette, and 
insisted on taking her to hunt at St. Germain, and 
consulting her as to his latest improvements in this 
palace. Her grandson, the young Duke of Longue- 
ville, was also a great favourite at Court, and when 
peace was at length concluded, the King gave him a 
copy of the new treaty with England to send to the 
Queen of Scotland. The boy enclosed it in a merry 
letter, sending his love to the Httle Queen his sister, 
and telling his mother that. if she would not come to 

1 Granvelle, iii. 235, 236. ^ Bouille, i. 155 ; pimodan, 88. 



3o8 REGENT OF LORRAINE [Bk. IX 

France he meant to come and see her, and was old 
and strong enough to face the roughest sea-voyage.^ 

The Cardinal now announced his intention of taking 
the whole family back to Joinville, to attend the ducal 
funeral; but once more the King interfered, and kept 
them at Court for the christening of the Dauphin's 
daughter, which was celebrated with great pomp at 
Fontainebleau. Henry VIII. stood godfather, and 
the little Princess was named Elizabeth, after the 
King's mother, " as good and virtuous a woman as 
ever lived," said the English Ambassador, Sir Thomas 
Cheyney; while the Imperialists declared that the 
name was chosen because of its popularity in Spain 
and of the hopes of the French that the child might 
one day wed Don Carlos.^ 

Meanwhile the arrival of the Guises was anxiously 
awaited at Nancy. On the 17th of July Christina 
wrote to inform Abbot Bonvalot that she had at 
length been able to fix the date of her husband's 
funeral : 



" Monsieur de Luxeuil, 

" I must inform you that I have heard from 
the Cardinal and the Duke of Guise, who hope to be 
here by the end of the month, so the service will be 
held on the 6th of August, all being well. I beg you 
will not fail to be present. As for my news, all I have 
to tell you is that the King is giving me great trouble 
in Bar, and is trying to raise a tax in the town, which 
has never been done or thought of before. I fear 
that in the end I, too, shall have to go to Court, but 
shall wait until I hear from the Emperor. Can you 
give me any information as to his movements ? All 
I can hear is that His Majesty is collecting a large 

^ Balcarres Manuscripts, ii. 53, 60, iii. 102. 
2 Calendar of State Papers, xxi. 592, 642 ; Calendar of Spanish 
State Papers, viii. 431. 



Aug., 1546] FUNERAL OF DUKE FRANCIS 309 

army to make war on the Princes of the Empire, 
who have rebelled against him. I pray God to help 
him, and send him success and prosperity, and have 
good hope that my prayers will be heard, as this will 
be for the good of Christendom. Here I will end, 
Monsieur de Luxeuil, praying God to have you in His 
holy keeping. 

" La bien votre, 

" Chrestienne."^ 

The coming of the Guises, however, was again 
delayed, and the funeral did not take place until the 
17th of August. On the previous day the Duke's 
corpse was brought from Denoeuvre to Nancy by the 
great officers of State, and laid on a bier in the 
Church of St. George's, surrounded by lighted torches 
and a guard of armed men, who kept watch all night. 
The funerals of the Dukes of Lorraine had always been 
famous for their magnificence, and there was an old 
proverb which said: " Fortunate is the man who has 
seen the coronation of an Emperor, the sacring of 
a King of France, and the funeral of a Duke of 
Lorraine." 2 On this occasion nothing that could 
heighten the imposing nature of the ceremony was 
neglected. All the Princes of the blood, Nicolas 
of Vaudemont, the Duke of Guise with his five sons 
and grandson, rode out from the duqal palace to the 
Church of St. Georges, and took their places, as chief 
mourners, at the head of the long procession that 
wound through the streets to the Cordeliers' shrine. 
In their train came a multitude of clergy, nobles, and 
Ambassadors from all the crowned heads in Europe, 
followed by a motley crowd of burghers and humble 
folk, all in deep mourning, with torches in their hands. 
The chariot bearing the coffin was drawn by twelve 

^ Granvelle, iii. 237. ^ A. Hallays, 40. 

21 



310 REGENT OF LORRAINE [Bk. ix 

horses, draped with black velvet adorned with the 
cross of Lorraine in white satin. The Duke's war- 
horse, in full armour, was led by two pages, while 
the servants of his household walked bareheaded on 
either side, with folded arms, in token that their 
master needed their services no more. On the hearse 
lay an image of the dead Prince, with the ducal 
baton in his hand, clad in crimson robes and a mantle 
of gold brocade fastened with a diamond clasp . This 
effigy was placed on a huge catafalque erected in the 
centre of the church, lighted with a hundred torches, 
and hung with banners emblazoned with the arms 
of Lorraine, Bar, Provence, Jerusalem, and the 
Sicilies. 

In the tribune above the choir knelt the Princess 
of Orange, the Duchess of Guise, and her newly- 
wedded daughter-in-law, Diane of Poitiers 's daughter 
Louise, Marchioness of Mayenne, all clad in the same 
long black mantles lined with ermine. The Countess 
Palatine, Dorothea, had arrived at Nancy on the 
17th of June, to attend her brother-in-law's funeral, 
but as the Guises failed to appear, she returned to 
Heidelberg at the end of a fortnight. 

Christina herself was unable to be present, " owing 
to her excessive sorrow," writes the chronicler, and 
remained on her knees in prayer, with the Princess 
of Macedonia and her young children, in her own 
room, hung with black, while the requiem was 
chanted and the last rites were performed.^ When 
all was over, and the " two Princes of peace," as De 
Boullay called Francis and his father, were laid side 
by side in the vault of the Friars' Church, the vast 
assembly dispersed and the mourners went their 

1 Calmet, ii. 1276, 1281; Pfister, ii. 203. 



Oct., 1546] ANNE DE LORRAII^IE 311 

ways. Only Anne of Lorraine remained at Nancy 
with her sister-in-law, who could not bear to part 
from her. A letter which this Princess wrote to her 
cousin, the Queen of Scotland, this summer is of 
interest for the glimpse which it gives of the widowed 
Duchess and the boy round whom all her hopes 
centred : 

" Your Majesty's last letters reached me on the 
day when I arrived here from home, and I regret 
extremely that I have been unable to answer them 
before. I am very glad to hear you are in good health 
and kind enough to remember me. On my part, I 
can assure you that there is no one in your family 
who thinks of you with greater affection or is more 
anxious to do you service than myself. I did not 
fail to give your kind message, to Madame de Lor- 
raine, my sister, and Her Highness returns her most 
humble thanks. You will be glad to hear that her 
son is well and thriving. I pray God that he may 
live to fulfil the promise of his early years. Everyone 
who sees him speaks well of him, and his nature is 
so good that I hope he will grow up to satisfy our 
highest expectations. May God grant you long life ! 
" Your humble cousin, 

" Anne de Lorraine."^ 

The Princess of Orange was still in Lorraine when 
King Francis came to visit the Duchess. This 
monarch was as active as ever, in spite of frequent 
attacks of illness, and spent the autumn in making 
a progress through Burgundy and Champagne, hunting 
and travelling seven or eight leagues a day in the 
most inclement weather. 

In October he came to Joinville, and Christina, glad 
to be relieved of the necessity of going to Court 
herself, invited him to pay her a visit at Bar. In 

^ Balcarres Manuscripts, iL 156. 



312 REGENT OF LORRAINE [Bk. ix 

this once stately Romanesque castle, of which little 
now remains, the Duchess and the Princess of Orange, 
" dowagers both," as Wotton remarks, entertained 
Francis magnificently, and provided a series of hunt- 
ing-parties and banquets for his amusement. 

The true object of the King's visit was to arrange a 
marriage between the Duchess and the Count of 
Aumale. The young soldier made no secret of his 
love for his cousin's beautiful widow, Antoinette was 
anxious to see her son settled, and both the King and 
the Guises were fully alive to the political advantages 
of the alhance. On the 26th of October Wotton 
wrote from Bar, " The fame continues of a marriage 
between the Dowager of Lorraine and the Count of 
Aumale," although, as he had already remarked in 
a previous letter, it was hard to believe the Duchess's 
uncles would consent to the union. Aumale 's own 
hopes were high, and he sent a messenger to Scotland 
to tell his sister of the good cheer which they were 
enjoying in Madame de Lorraine's house at Bar.^ 

But these hopes were doomed to disappointment. 
Christina was determined never to marry again. 
Like her aunt, Mary of Hungary, having once tasted 
perfect happiness, she was unwilling to repeat the 
experiment. Her beauty was in its prime, her 
charms attracted lovers of every age and rank. 
During the next ten or twelve years she was courted 
by several of the most illustrious personages and 
bravest captains of the age. She smiled on all her 
suitors in turn, and gave them freely of her friend- 
ship, but remained true to her resolve to live for her 
children alone, and took for her device a solitary 

1 Calendar of State Papers, xxi. 2, 121 ; Balcarres Manuscripts, 
ii. 87. 



Oct., 1546] MARRIAGE PROPOSALS 313 

tower with doves fluttering round its barred windows, 
and the motto Accipio nullas sordida turris aves 
(A ruined tower, I give shelter to no birds), as 
a symbol of perpetual widowhood.^ 

Aumale consoled himself by winning fresh laurels 
in the next war, and before long married another 
bride of high degree; but Brantome, who was inti- 
mate with the Guises, tells us that he never forgave 
Madame de Lorraine for rejecting his suit, and re- 
mained her bitter enemy to the end of his life.^ The 
King took Christina's refusal more lightly. He never 
treated women's fancies seriously, and when he found 
that Aumale's suit was not acceptable, he sought the 
Duchess's help in a scheme that lay nearer his heart. 
This was the marriage of his own daughter Margaret 
with Philip of Spain, whose young wife had died, 
in June, 1545, a few days after giving birth to the 
Infant Don Carlos. The old scheme of marrying 
this Princess to the Emperor's only son was now 
revived at the French Court, and Christina, who had 
always appreciated Madame Marguerite's excellent 
qualities, entered readily into the King's wishes. 
But, as she soon discovered, her aunt. Queen Eleanor, 
was greatly opposed to the idea, and still ardently 
wished to see Philip married to her own daughter, 
the Infanta Maria of Portugal.^ 

From Bar Francis returned to spend All Hallows 
at Joinville, where he enjoyed fresh revels, and 
delighted the Duke of Longueville by telling him to 
make haste and grow tall, that he might enter his 
service. 

^ N. Ratti, " La Famiglia Sforza," ii. 86. 

2 Brant6me, " CEuvres," xii. 114. 

^ Calendar of Spanish State Papers, viii. 501. 



314 REGENT OF LORRAINE [Bk. ix 

" Now he goes," wrote the boy's tutor, Jean de 
la Brousse, " to keep Christmas at Compiegne, and 
will spend the winter in Paris, watching how matters 
go with the Emperor and the Protestants, whose 
armies have been three months face to face, and yet 
do not know how to kill each other." ^ 

In the same letter the writer describes how, on his 
journey to Plessis, to bring the Princess of Navarre 
to Court, he met the Queen of Scotland's sister, 
Madame Renee, with a number of old monks and 
nuns, on her way from Fontevrault to Joinville. On 
the 1 6th of December Madame Renee took possession 
of the Convent of St. Pierre at Reims, of which she 
was Abbess, and the Duchess of Lorraine and the 
Princess of Orange were among the guests present 
at this ceremony, at the entry of her brother the 
Archbishop into his episcopal city on the following 
day. 

Meanwhile the news of Christina's supposed marriage 
travelled far and wide. It reached Venice, where the 
fate of the Duchess who had once reigned over 
Milan always excited interest, and was reported to 
King Henry of England by one of his Italian agents. 
His curiosity was aroused, and when the French 
Ambassador, Odet de Selve, came to Windsor, he 
asked him if his master had concluded the marriage 
which he had in hand. " What marriage?" asked 
De Selve innocently. " That of Madame de Lor- 
raine," replied Henry testily. " With whom ?" asked 
the Ambassador. But Henry would say no more, 
and relapsed into sullen silence .^ He had come back 
from Boulogne seriously ill, and grew heavier and 
more unwieldy every day. A week afterwards he 

^ Balcarres Manuscripts, ii. 65 ; iii. 105, 114. 
2 Calendar of State Papers, xxi. 2, 172, 187. 



Jan., 1547] DEATH OF HENRY, VIII. 315 

had a severe attack of fever, and on his return to 
London sent Norfolk and Surrey to the Tower. 

Mary of Hungary was so much alarmed at this 
fresh outbreak of violence that she sent to Chapuys, 
who was living in retirement at Louvain, for advice. 
The veteran diplomatist, who for sixteen years had 
toiled to avoid a rupture between the two monarchs, 
wrote back, on the 29th of January, 1547, advising 
the Queen to take no action. " Physicians say," he 
added, " that the best and quickest cure for certain 
maladies is to leave the evil untouched and avoid 
further irritation." When the old statesman wrote 
these words, the King, whose varying moods he knew 
so well, had already ceased from troubling. He died 
at Whitehall on the 28th of January, 1547. 

The news of his royal brother's death moved the 
King of France deeply. " We were both of the same 
age," he said, " and now he is gone it is time for me 
to go hence, too."^ In spite of the painful ailments 
from which he suffered, Francis still moved restlessly 
from place to place. Towards the end of Lent he 
left Loches to spend Easter at St. Germain, but fell 
ill on the way, and died at Rambouillet on the 31st 
of March. 

The death of these two monarchs, who filled so 
large a place in the history of the times, produced a 
profound sensation throughout Europe. No one felt 
the shock more than the Duchess, who had been 
courted by one Prince, and had lately received the 
other under her roof. But a third death this spring 
touched her still more closely. On the 28th of 
February the good old Queen Philippa passed away 
in her humble cell at Pont-a-Mousson. As she lay 

^ Bra,nt6me, iii. 164. 



3i6 REGENT OF LORRAINE [Bk. ix 

dying she asked what was the day of the week, and, 
being told it was Saturday, remarked: " All the best 
things of my life came to me on this day. I was born 
and married to my dear husband on a Saturday, I 
entered Nancy amid the rejoicings of my people, and 
I forsook the world to take the veil, on this day, and 
now on Saturday I am going to God." Her children 
and grandchildren knelt at the bedside, but Guise, 
her best-loved son, only arrived from Paris at the 
last moment. She opened her eyes at the sound of 
his voice. " Adieu, mon ami," she said, " and do 
not forget to keep God before your eyes." These 
were her last words, and as the pure spirit passed 
out of this life the sound of weeping was broken by 
the joyous songs of her pet lark.^ 

She was buried, as she desired, in the convent 
cloister, and the people, who venerated her as a saint, 
flocked to the funeral. Christina employed Ligier- 
Richier, the sculptor of the Prince of Orange's monu- 
ment, to carve a recumbent effigy of the dead Queen 
in coloured marbles on her tomb. The black cloak 
and grey habit were faithfully reproduced, the finely- 
modelled features were rendered in all their ivory 
whiteness, and a tiny figure of a kneeling nun was 
represented in the act of laying the crown at her 
feet. When the convent church was pillaged by 
rioters in 1793, this monument was buried by the 
nuns in the garden. Here it was discovered in 1822, 
and brought to Nancy, where it now stands in the 
Church of the Cordeliers, near the stately tomb 
which Philippa herself had reared to her husband, 
King Rene .2 

* Pimodan, 95; Bouille, i. 160. 

2 Hallays, " La Ville de Nancy," 22 ; C. Cournault, " Ligier- 
Richier," 34. 



Aug., 1546] THE LEAGUE OF SCHMALKALDE 317 



III. 

Of the three great monarchs whose fame had filled 
the world during the last forty years, only one re- 
mained alive, and he was engaged in a desperate 
struggle. Throughout the autumn and winter of 
1546-47, Charles V. carried on a vigorous campaign 
against the coalition of Princes known as the League 
of Schmalkalde. Christina watched the progress of 
the war with keen anxiety, and saw with distress 
that her brother-in-law, the Palatine, had joined 
the rebel ranks, Frederic had never forgiven the 
Emperor for sacrificing his wife's rights by the 
Treaty of Spires, and showed his displeasure by 
refusing to attend the Chapter of the Golden 
Fleece at Utrecht in January, 1546. He further 
annoyed Charles by introducing Lutheran rites at 
Heidelberg, and on Christmas Day he and Dorothea 
received Communion in both kinds at the hands of a 
Protestant pastor in the Church of the Holy Ghost. 
But he still hesitated to take up arms against the 
friend of his youth. At length, in August, he declared 
himself on the Protestant side, and for the first time 
the red flag of the Palatinate was seen in the camp 
of the Emperor's foes. Before long, however, his 
courage failed him, and when Charles recovered the 
imperial city of Halle, in Suabia, Frederic hastened 
thither to make his peace. Tears rose to the veteran's 
eyes when the Emperor said how much it had grieved 
him to see so old a friend in the ranks of his foes, but 
hastened to add that he forgave him freely and would 
only remember his past services. From this time 
the Palatine's loyalty never again wavered, but he 



318 REGENT OF LORRAINE [Bk. ix 

was obliged to restore Catholic rites in Heidelberg 
and to give up his fortress of Hoh-Konigsberg in 
Franconia to Albert of Brandenburg.^ 

The Duke of Wiirtemberg and the cities of Ulm 
and Augsburg soon followed the Palatine's example, 
and Charles's triumph was complete by the decisive 
victory of Miihlberg. " God be thanked, who never 
forsakes his own," wrote Granvelle to Mary of 
Hungar}^ from the battle-field, at midnight on the 
24th of April .2 The Elector John Frederick of 
Saxony and the Landgrave of Hesse were made 
prisoners, the League of Schmalkalde was dis- 
solved, and Titian commemorated the Emperor's 
heroic deeds in a famous equestrian portrait. 

The peace of Lorraine was insured by the victory 
of Miihlberg, and Christina shared in the general 
sense of relief with which the close of the war was 
hailed. When, in the following autumn, the Regent 
and the Princess of Orange rode to meet the Emperor 
at the Diet of Augsburg, the Duchess joined them 
on the frontiers of Lorraine. These three august 
ladies reached Augsburg on the 21st of November, 
and were received by King Ferdinand, his son Arch- 
duke Maximilian, and the Prince of Piedmont, who 
met them outside the gates, and escorted them to 
the Emperor's lodgings in the fine house of the 
Fuggers, Here the Countess Palatine and Ferdinand's 
daughter, the Duchess of Bavaria, were awaiting 
them at the doors of the courtyard, and conducted 
them into Charles's presence. During the next three 
months Christina lived in the great banker's house, 
with the other members of the imperial family, as 

^ Gachard, ii. 338; L. Haiisser, i. 603; G. Voigt, " Albert von 
Brandenburg," i. 164. ^ Granvelle, iii. 265. 



Nov., 1547] THE DIET OF AUGSBURG 319 

her uncle's guest. Augsburg itself was a noble city. 
The wealth of her merchants, the splendour of their 
houses and gardens, amazed every stranger who 
entered her gates. " The Fuggers' house," wrote 
Ascham, " would overbrag all Cheapside." The 
copper roofs glittered in the sun, the carved and 
painted decorations of the interior were of the most 
costly and elaborate description.^ And this winter 
the streets of Augsburg were thronged with Princes 
and ladies. It was the gayest and most splendid 
Diet ever seen. Never before had so many Arch- 
duchesses and Duchesses been present, never was 
there so much dancing and jousting and feasting. 
On St. Andrew's Day the whole imperial family 
attended a solemn Mass in honour of the Knights of 
the Fleece, and were entertained by the Emperor at 
a banquet, after which the Queen of Hungary re- 
ceived the Companions of the Order in her apart- 
ments. On Christmas Day all the Princes and 
Princesses were present at High Mass in the Cathedral, 
and on the Feast of the Three Kings they attended 
service in the Court chapel, when Granvelle's son, the 
young Bishop of Arras, officiated, and the Palatine, 
the Marquis of Brandenburg, and the Archduke, 
presented the customary offerings of gold, frank- 
incense, and myrrh, in the Emperor's name. Except 
on these state occasions, Charles dined alone and 
never spoke at meals, but generally sat by the window 
for an hour or two afterwards, talking to his brother 
and sister or nephews and nieces. 

King Ferdinand's rooms, on the contrary, were 
never empty. He had lost his faithful wife, Anna of 

^ Gachard, " Voyages de Charles V.," ii. 350-355; R. Ascham, 
" Works," ii. 267; " Travail and Life of Sir T. Hoby," 7. 



320 REGENT OF LORRAINE [Bk. ix 

Bohemia, in January, but his son and daughter were 
lavish in dispensing their father's hospitaHty. Like 
his sister Mary, Ferdinand was very fond of music, 
and enjoyed Hstening to his fine Kapelle, while one 
of his favourite jesters was always present to amuse 
the Electors and Princesses at his table .^ His son, 
the Archduke Max, as Ascham calls him, was a gay 
and pleasant gentleman, " of goodly person and 
stature," speaking eight languages, and very popular 
with all classes, especially the Lutherans, whose 
opinions he was supposed to affect. Charles's other 
nephew, Emanuel Philibert, the Prince of Piedmont, 
was another gallant squire of dames, as ready to take 
part in masque and dance as he was foremost in 
active warfare. Every evening there was music and 
dancing in the King's rooms, and the old halls of the 
merchants rang to the sound of laughter and melody. 
In that joyous throng the Countess Palatine was the 
gayest of the gay, and Christina forgot her sorrows 
to become young once more. 

There was one man among the Princes assembled 
at Augsburg who gazed with frank admiration at the 
handsome Duchess ; this was the Marquis Albert of 
Brandenburg, Lord of Culmbach and Burgrave of 
Nuremberg, While still a boy he succeeded to his 
father's principality in Franconia, and was educated 
by his uncle, the Duke of Prussia and Grand-Master 
of the Teutonic Order. Although brought up a 
Lutheran, he entered the Emperor's service before 
he was twenty, and fought gallantly in the wars of 
Cleves and Champagne. A wild and reckless spirit, 
who rode hard, drank deep, and knew no fear, Albert 
was adored by his soldiers, whose toils and hardships 

Bucholtz, vi. 298, 300. 



1548] THE MARQUIS ALBERT 321 

he shared with cheerful courage, while his name was 
the terror of all peaceful citizens. " Thunder and 
lightning, devouring fire," wrote a contemporary, 
" are not more terrible than the Marquis Albert on 
the battle-field."^ But there was a fascination about 
this ruthless dare-devil which no woman could re- 
sist. His sisters were passionately devoted to him, 
and Bona, the Queen of Poland, tried in vain to marry 
him to one of her daughters. Roger Ascham de- 
scribes him as 

" another Achilles, his face fair and beautiful, but 
stern and manly, with flowing locks and great rolling 
eyes, yet with a sad, restless look, as if he was ever 
seeking what he could not find. A man of few words 
withal, but with a deep, strong voice, ever more ready 
to hear than to speak." ^ 

There seemed no heights to which this soldier of 
fortune could not aspire. The Emperor treated him 
with fatherly affection, and the Queen and the 
Duchess of Lorraine honoured the sumptuous ban- 
quets, in which he displayed his usual prodigality, 
careless of the debts with which he was already 
loaded. 

Once more rumour was busy with Christina's name. 
The Marquis Albert proclaimed himself her devoted 
servant, and her marriage with the young King Sigis- 
mund of Poland was seriously discussed at Augsburg. 
This monarch's wife, the Archduchess Elizabeth, had 
died before his accession, and his sister, the Electress 
Hedwig of Brandenburg, was eager to bring about a 
union between him and the Duchess of Lorraine;^ 
but, as usual, these rumours ended in smoke, and the 

^ Voigt, ii. 7. 2 Ascham, iii. 32; Voigt, i. 197. 

3 Bulletins de la Commission d'Histoire, xii. 156; Calendar of 
State Papers, Edward VI., 17. 



322 REGENT OF LORRAINE [Bk. ix 

only marriage announced at Augsburg was that of 
the Archduke Max and his cousin the Infanta Maria 
of Spain, an aUiance which had long been privately- 
arranged. 

Early in the New Year another distinguished person 
arrived at Augsburg, in the person of the great 
Venetian master, Titian. He came in obedience to 
an urgent summons from the Emperor, and during 
the next few months painted a magnificent series of 
portraits, including those of Charles and Ferdinand, 
the captive Elector of Saxony, Chancellor Gran- 
velle, his wife, and his son, the Bishop of Arras, who 
was a great admirer of Titian's art. Fourteen years 
before, this same master had taken Christina's portrait, 
when she came to Milan as the youthful bride of 
Francesco Sforza; now he saw her again in the 
flower of her womanhood, and, had opportunity 
offered, would doubtless have painted her again. But 
disquieting rumours of unrest on the frontiers of 
Lorraine reached Augsburg, and on the i6th of 
February the Duchess set out on her return to Nancy. 
The Emperor gave his niece a costly ring as a parting 
present, and Archduke Max, the Marquis Albert, the 
Prince of Piedmont, together with the Countess Pala- 
tine and the Princess of Orange, escorted her some 
leagues on her way. When, a month later, the Queen 
of Hungary left Augsburg, she paid Christina a visit at 
Nancy, bringing with her Anne of Lorraine and William, 
the young Prince of Orange, a promising boy of fifteen, 
who was being educated at Court, and met with a 
kindly welcome from the Duchess and her subjects for 
the sake of the lamented Prince whose name he bore.^ 
By Mary's advice, the Regents took active measures 

^ Gachard, ii. 357. 




Photo Havfs'.acngL 



To face p. 322 



CHARLES V. (1548) 
By Titian (Munich) 



June, 1548] THE INTERIM 323 

for the defence of the frontier and the fortification 
of Nancy. An arsenal was founded, and two bastions, 
which became known as those of Denmark and 
Vaudemont, were built near the palace. Other im- 
provements were carried out at the same time: the 
marshy ground under the walls was thoroughly 
drained, and converted into a spacious square called 
La Place de la Carriere ; many of the streets were paved 
and widened; and the Count of Salm, Bassompierre, 
and several of the nobles, built fine new houses along 
the Grande Rue, opposite the Galerie des Cerfs.^ 

The Emperor remained at Augsburg throughout 
the summer, endeavouring to effect a lasting settle- 
ment of the rehgious question. On the 30th of June 
the so-called " Interim " was proclaimed, a compro- 
mise which satisfied no one, and was described by 
Thomas Hoby, a young Englishman who came to 
Augsburg this summer on his way to Italy, as an 
attempt to set up the old Babylon again in Germany.^ 
A fortnight later the Diet was prorogued, and Charles 
started for the Netherlands, where he arrived on the 
8th of September, after more than two years' absence. 

A few weeks before his arrival a marriage had taken 
place, greatly to Mary's satisfaction, between the 
widowed Princess of Orange and the Duke of Aerschot.^ 
This nobleman, the premier peer of the realm and 
doyen of the Golden Fleece, had lost his second wife 
in 1544, but was still in the prime of life, and, as his 
daughter-in-law, Louise de Guise, told her sister, was 
honoured and beloved throughout the Netherlands 
Christina could not herself be present at the wedding, 

^ H. Lepage, " La Ville de Nancy," 44; Calendar of State 
Papers, Foreign, Edward VI., i. 16. 
^ T. Hoby, " Memoirs," 6. 
3 Calendar of State Papers, Edward VI., i. 25. 



324 REGENT OF LORRAINE [Bk. ix 

but her brother-in-law Nicolas went to Brussels to 
give his sister away. Here he fell in love with Count 
Egmont's sister Margaret, and asked her hand in mar- 
riage. This alliance met with the warm approval of the 
Emperor and the Regent, but caused Christina many 
searchings of heart. Already more than one attempt 
had been made by the Guises to marry Vaudemont 
to a French bride, and she feared that this union 
would excite great displeasure in some quarters. In 
her alarm she wrote to the Emperor, begging him to 
forbid the marriage as dangerous to the welfare of 
her State. Charles, however, declined to inter- 
fere, and sent Granvelle's brother, Chantonnay, to 
advise his niece politely to mind her own business. 

" Since the Count of Vaudemont is bent on marry- 
ing," he wrote to his Envoy, " it is far better that he 
should come here for a wife than go to France ; and 
the Duchess need not feel in any way responsible for 
the alliance, which is entirely his own doing. . . . 
And, indeed, I do not see how he could honourably 
break his word, since we ourselves urged our cousins 
of Egmont to agree to his proposals. But tell him 
to come here as soon as he can, to prevent the French 
from making any more mischief !"^ 

There was nothing more to be said, and the wedding 
was celebrated in the Court chapel at Brussels, after 
vespers, on the 23rd of January, 1549. The bride, 
richly clad in cloth of gold and decked with priceless 
gems, was led to the altar by the Queen, while 
Charles brought in the bridegroom. A banquet and 
masque were afterwards held in the palace, at the 
close of which Mary once more took the bride by the 
hand and conducted her into the nuptial chamber, 
hung with crimson brocade and costly tapestries. 
The next morning the newly-wedded Countess ap- 

^ Granvelle, iii. 335. 



DEic., 1548] ADOLF OF HOLSTEIN 325 

peared at Mass, in another costume of green velvet 
embroidered in silver, and jousts and dances suc- 
ceeded each other during the following three days, 
ending with a magnificent banquet given by the 
Duchess of Aerschot.^ 

Among the company present on this occasion was 
the Dowager Queen Eleanor, who came to Brussels 
on the 5th of December, to make her home with her 
beloved brother and sister. On his death - bed 
Francis I. was seized with remorse for the way 
in which he had neglected his wife, and begged his 
daughter Margaret to atone for his shortcomings. 
But although Margaret carried out her father's last 
instructions faithfully, and asked his widow to re- 
main at Court, the new King showed his stepmother 
scanty kindness, and Eleanor left France with few 
regrets. Another guest at Margaret of Egmont's 
wedding was Christina's cousin, Duke Adolf of Hol- 
stein, the King of Denmark's youngest brother. Most 
of his life had been spent in Germany, and he had 
taken part in the campaign of Muhlberg with his 
friend Albert of Brandenburg. Now, following the 
wild Marquis's example, he came to Brussels in 
October, 1548, and entered the Emperor's service. 
This new recruit was cordially welcomed, and gave 
a signal proof of his valour by carrying off the first 
prize in the tournament held at the palace. 

Christina herself maintained the prudent attitude 
which she had adopted with regard to Vaudemont's 
marriage, and refused to countenance by her presence 
a union which excited much unfriendly criticism in 
France. Two other weddings in which she was also 
keenly interested took place about the same time. 
On the 20th of October her old suitor, the brilliant 

^ Gachard, ii. 377. 

22 



326 REGENT OF LORRAINE [Bk. ix 

and volatile Duke of Vendome, was married at 
Moulins to Jeanne d'Albret, the heiress of Navarre. 
This strong-minded Princess, who refused to wed 
the Duke of Cleves, and took objection to Aumale 
because his brother was the husband of Diane de 
Poitiers 's daughter, fell suddenly in love with 
Vendome, and insisted on marrying him in spite of 
her mother's opposition. So radiant was Jeanne on 
her wedding-day that King Henry declared her to 
be the most joyous bride whom he had ever seen. 
Six weeks later Aumale himself was married at 
St. Germain to Anna d' Este, daughter of Duke Er- 
cole II. of Ferrara and Renee of France. Ronsard 
sang the praises of this Italian Venus who had taken 
the Mars of France for her lord, and Vendome, gay 
and inconsequent as ever, sent his old rival in war 
and love a merry letter, bidding him follow his good 
example, and stay at home to play the good husband.^ 
This union with the King's first cousin satisfied the 
highest ambitions of the Guises, while Anna's charm 
and goodness were a source of lasting content to 
Duchess Antoinette. Christina was one of the first 
to greet the bride on her arrival at Joinville. At 
first the two Princesses, Brantome tells us, looked at 
each other shyly, but with evident curiosity. The 
tale of Aumale's courtship was well known, and 
Christina naturally felt keen interest in the Este 
Princess who came from Beatrice's home and was the 
cousin of Francesco Sforza. " Anna," writes the 
chronicler, " was tall and beautiful, but very gentle 
and amiable. The two ladies met and conversed 
together, and were soon the best of friends."^ 

^ A. de Ruble, " Le Mariage de Jeanne d'Albret," 243-246; 
Bouille, 204. 

2 Brantome, " CEuvres," xii. 115. 



March, 1549] CHRISTINA AT BRUSSELS 327 

IV. 

Christina's absence from her brother - in - law's 
wedding had been a great disappointment to her aunts, 
and she received a pressing invitation to come to 
Brussels for the fetes in honour of the Prince of Spain, 
whose arrival was expected early in the spring of 
1549. Accordingly, on the 28th of March the 
Duchess reached Brussels, attended by the Princess 
of Macedonia, and was received by the Grand-Ecuyer 
Boussu and a brilliant escort of gentlemen. One of 
these was the Marquis Albert, whose name of late 
had been frequently coupled with her own, the other 
his friend Duke Adolf of Holstein. Christina natu- 
rally hailed this meeting with her cousin, especially 
now that his brother. King Christian, had alleviated 
the rigour of her father's captivity. Since the 
Palatine had abandoned all attempts to maintain his 
wife's claims, the reigning monarch had agreed to 
release his unfortunate kinsman from the dungeons 
of Sonderburg. On the 17th of February the two 
Kings met and dined together in a friendly manner, 
after which the deposed monarch was removed to 
Kallundborg, a pleasantly-situated castle on a prom- 
ontory of Zeeland, where he spent the remaining 
ten years of his life in comparative freedom.^ This, 
indeed, was all that the Emperor desired. In a 
secret paper of instructions which he drew up for 
Philip in case of his own death, he enjoined his son 
to cultivate peaceable relations with the King of 
Denmark, and do his utmost to keep the Princesses 
Dorothea and Christina in his good graces, and insure 
their father's good treatment, " without allowing him 
^ Schafer, iv. 472; Bucholtz, vii. 572. 



328 REGENT OF LORRAINE [Bk. ix 

such a measure of liberty as might enable him to 
assert his old claims and injure our State of Flanders 
as he did before."^ 

Unfortunately, the interest with which Christina 
regarded the Danish Prince proved fatal to Adolf's 
friendship with the Marquis. Before the outbreak 
of the Schmalkalde War, Adolf had become affianced 
to Albert's sister, Fraulein Kunigunde. The wedding- 
day was fixed, and the citizens of Nuremberg had 
prepared gold rings and jewels for the bride, but the 
disturbed state of Denmark compelled the Duke to 
postpone his marriage for a time. Then, as ill-luck 
would have it, he met the Duchess of Lorraine at 
the New Year festivities at Augsburg, and fell desper- 
ately in love with her. From this moment he forgot 
Fraulein Kunigunde, and took the first excuse he 
could find to break off his engagement. Albert never 
forgave the wrong, and, although the two Princes met 
at Brussels and walked side by side in the Court 
chapel on Candlemas Day, the old friendship between 
them was turned to bitter enmity .^ 

But now private grievances had to be put aside, 
and friends and foes alike joined in the public re- 
joicings which welcomed the Prince of Spain's arrival. 
Charles was anxious to present his son to his future 
subjects in the most favourable light, and no pains 
were spared to produce a good impression both on 
Philip himself and on the loyal people of Brabant. 
On the ist of April, Mary of Hungary, Christina, 
and Anne of Aerschot, accompanied by the whole 
Court, received the Prince at Ter Vueren, where they 

^ Granvelle, iii. 207. 

2 Lodge, " Illustrations," i. 183; Calendar of the Manuscripts 
of the Marquis of Salisbury, i. no; Voigt, i. 197. 



April, 1549] PHILIP OF SPAIN 329 

entertained him at dinner and witnessed a military 
parade and sham-fight on the plains outside the town. 
In the evening Philip made his state entry into 
Brussels, clad in crimson velvet and riding on a 
superb war-horse, attended by Albert of Brandenburg, 
Adolf of Holstein, the Princes of Piedmont, Orange, 
and Chimay, Alva, Egmont, Pescara, and many 
other illustrious personages. The chief burghers and 
city guilds met the Prince at Ter Vueren, and escorted 
him to the palace gates, where the two Queens and 
Christina conducted him into the Emperor's presence. 
Philip fell on his knees, and his father embraced him 
with tears in his eyes, and conversed with him for 
over an hour. At nightfall the whole city was illu- 
minated, and bonfires blazed from all the neighbour- 
ing heights. The next day a tournament was held 
on the Grande Place, and a splendid gold cup was 
presented to the Prince by the city, while the States 
of Brabant voted him a gift of 100,000 florins and 
hailed him with acclamation as the Emperor's suc- 
cessor. But in the evening these rejoicings were in- 
terrupted by the news of the Duke of Aerschot's 
sudden death. He had gone to Spires to meet the 
Prince, but had over-exerted himself, and died very 
suddenly at his castle of Quievrain. It was a grievous 
blow to Anne of Lorraine, who was once more left 
a widow, before she had been married quite nine 
months. The deepest sympathy was felt for her at 
Court, and Mary lamented the loss of her wisest 
Councillor. All festivities were put off till Easter. 
Philip spent Holy Week in devotional exercises, and 
rode to S. Gudule on Palm Sunday, at the head of a 
solemn procession of knights bearing palms. 

Charles took advantage of this quiet season to 



330 REGENT OF LORRAINE [Bk. ix 

initiate his son into the administration of public 
affairs and make him acquainted with the leading 
nobles of the Netherlands. But the impression pro- 
duced by Philip was far from being a favourable one. 
Short in stature and blond in complexion, with his 
father's wide forehead and projecting jaw, he was 
Flemish in appearance, but Spanish by nature. His 
taciturn air and haughty and reserved manners 
formed a striking contrast to the frank and genial 
ways which endeared Charles V. to all classes of 
his subjects. Thomas Hoby, who saw Philip at 
Mantua, noticed what " small countenance " he 
made to the crowd who greeted his entry, and heard 
that he had already " acquired a name for insolency," 
Wherever he went it was the same. "His severe 
and morose appearance," wrote the Venetian Suriano, 
" has made him disagreeable to the Italians, hated by 
the Flemings, and odious to the Germans." His 
marked preference for all that was Spanish gave 
deadly offence to the Emperor's old servants, and 
people in Brussels said openly that when Philip came 
to the throne no one but Spaniards would be employed 
at Court. In vain his father and aunt warned him 
that this exclusive temper was ill-suited to a Prince 
who was called to rule over subjects of many nations. 
He spoke little in public and rarely smiled. During 
the year which he spent at Brussels people said that 
he was never seen to laugh except on one occasion, 
when all the Court witnessed the famous national 
fete of the Ommegang from the hotel-de-ville, on 
the Fete-Dieu. Among the varied groups in the 
procession was a bear playing on an organ, while 
children dressed up as monkeys danced to the music, 
and unhappy cats tied by the tail in cages filled the 



May, 1549] HIS DEVOTION TO CHRISTINA 331 

air with discordant cries. At the sight of these 
grotesque figures even Phihp's gravity gave way, and 
he laughed till the tears ran down his cheeks.^ 

This cold and haughty Prince, who took no pains 
to commend himself to his future subjects, showed 
a marked preference from the first for his cousin 
Christina. He sought her company on every possible 
occasion, gave her rich presents, and devoted himself 
to her service with an ardour which became a cause 
of serious annoyance to his aunts. 

" Queen Eleanor," wrote the French Ambassador 
Marillac, " is always trying to treat of her daughter's 
marriage with the Prince, but with very little success, 
and the great attentions which he pays the Duchess 
of Lorraine, the evident delight which he takes in 
her society, and the gifts which he bestows upon her, 
have excited great jealousy. "^ 

Before long Christina herself found Philip's atten- 
tions embarrassing, and felt that it would be the 
path of wisdom to leave Court. She was present, 
however, at a second tournament given on the 
Grande Place, on the 6th of May. That day Count 
d'Aremberg (the husband of Christina's intimate 
friend Margaret la Marck), Mansfeldt, Horn, and 
Floris de Montmorency, held the lists against all 
assailants, while Alva and Francesco d' Este were the 
judges. Philip, who inherited little of his father's 
taste for knightly exercises, but had been practising 
riding and jousting diligently during the last few weeks, 
entered the lists, and was awarded a fine ruby as a 
prize, Egmont and the Prince of Piedmont being 
the other victors. Albert of Brandenburg was present, 

^ Henne, viii. 373. 

2 Gachard, " Retraite de Charles V.," i. 72; Manuscript 8,625, 
f. 235, Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris. 



332 REGENT OF LORRAINE [Bk. ix 

but declined to take part in the tournament. He 
had seldom been seen at Court since Philip's arrival 
and spent most of his time in his own quarters, 
compiling an account of his grievances against the 
Emperor. One day Charles, fearing to lose his 
services, sent Granvelle to offer him an honourable 
and lucrative office in the Imperial Mint. Albert 
replied loftily that, since he was born a Branden- 
burg, no office which the Emperor had to bestow, 
could exalt his station, and that as he never managed 
to keep a sixpence in his own pocket, he would rather 
not attempt to meddle with other people's money. 
A few days after this he asked leave to retire to his 
own domains. The last time that he appeared in 
public was at the banquet which followed the tourna- 
ment, in the hotel-de-ville ; here he sat at the Em- 
peror's table, opposite the Duchess of Lorraine, who was 
placed between Philip and Emanuel Philibert of Pied- 
mont, while Adolf of Holstein sat next to the Princess 
of Macedonia. All these illustrious guests joined in 
the ball which closed the day's festivities, and dancing 
was kept up with great spirit until after midnight.^ 

Early the next morning Christina left Brussels, 
accompanied by Vaudemont's wife, Margaret of 
Egmont, and escorted for several miles on her journey 
by the Prince of Spain. Three weeks later the 
Marquis Albert also left Court, without taking leave 
of the Emperor or the Queens. His abrupt departure 
excited general surprise, and no one knew whether 
it was due to his quarrel with the Duke of Holstein, 
or to some imaginary affront from the Prince or the 
Duchess of Lorraine; but when he was at some 
distance from the town he sent back a warrant for a 

^ Gachard, ii. 389. 



Aug., 1549] THE GUISE PRINCES 333 

pension of 4,000 crowns a year, which he had received 
from the Emperor, as a sign that he was no longer 
in his service. 

During the course of the summer Phihp made his 
" joyeuse entree " into the different cities of the 
Low Countries, and a memorable series of fetes was 
given in his honour by Mary of Hungary at her 
beautiful summer palace of Binche. At the end of 
August the Duchess of Aerschot gave birth to a 
posthumous son, who was christened by the Bishop 
of Arras in the Court chapel, and named Charles 
Philip, after his godfathers, the Emperor and the 
Prince. But while Anne's second marriage and her 
brother's union with Egmont's sister strengthened 
the ties between Lorraine and Flanders, the close 
connection of the younger branch of the ducal house 
with France increased daily. After the marriage of 
Guise's third son, Mayenne, with Diane de Poitiers 's 
daughter, his brothers were loaded with favours of 
every description. Aumale was created a Duke 
and appointed Governor of Savoy, and Charles was 
made a Cardinal at the King's request, and loaded 
with rich benefices. Their mother stood sponsor to 
Henry II. 's daughter Claude, who was one day to be 
the wife of Christina's only son, and had the deputies 
of the thirteen Swiss cantons for her godfathers. A 
new link was forged by the coming of the little Queen 
of Scots to France in the autumn of 1548, as the 
future bride of the Dauphin. Antoinette met her 
granddaughter at Brest, and brought her to St. Ger- 
main, where the charms of the little Queen soon won 
all hearts. " I can assure you," wrote the proud 
grandmother to her eldest son, " she is the best and 
prettiest child of her age that was ever seen !" And 



334 REGENT OF LORRAINE [Bk. ix 

her uncle the Cardinal added: " She already governs 
both the King and Queen." At the Court ball in honour 
of Aumale's wedding, all the guests stood still to 
watch the lovely little Queen and the Dauphin 
dancing hand in hand, and the King smiled maliciously 
when the English Ambassador remarked that it was 
the most charming thing in the world to see the two 
children together .■'^ 

When Christina returned to Lorraine in May, 1549, 
all the Guises were at Paris for the King and Queen's 
state entry, and the young Duke of Longueville led 
his grandmother's white horse in the procession. 
After this Antoinette brought her daughter-in-law 
to spend the autumn quietly at Joinville, and great 
was the rejoicing when, on the last day of the year, 
Anna gave birth to her first son, the Prince who was 
to become famous as " Henri le Balafre." Christina 
was careful to remain on good terms with the family at 
Joinville, and the presence of the Duchess of Aerschot, 
who spent the winter in Lorraine, increased the friendly 
intercourse between the two houses. Anne's letters 
to her aunt and cousins abound in playful allusions to 
early recollections, and she always addressed Aumale 
as "Monsieur mon serviteur " and signed herself 
" Votre bonne maitresse." When, in January, 1550, 
the Duke of Guise fell ill, Christina sent her steward 
Grammont repeatedly to make inquiries at Joinville. 

" We cannot rest satisfied," wrote the Duchess of 
Aerschot from Nancy, " without hearing the latest 
accounts of my uncle, and trust the bearer will bring 
us good news, please God ! My sister, Madame de 
Lorraine, is so anxious about him that she feels she 

^ Maitland, " Miscellany," i. 219; A. de Ruble, " La Jeunesse 
de Marie Stuart," 104. 



April, 1550] DEATH OF GUISE; 335 

must send over again. I cannot tell you, my dear 
aunt, how much she thinks of you, and how anxious 
she is to do you any service in her power. As for 
myself, if there is anything that I can do, you have 
only to speak, and you will be obeyed."^ 

After a long illness, Claude of Guise breathed his 
last on the 12th of April, and was followed to the 
grave within a month by his brother. Cardinal Jean, 
who died at Nogent-sur-Seine, on his return from 
Rome. The Duke's funeral was solemnized in the 
Church of St. Laurent at Joinville, with all the elabo- 
rate ceremonial common on these occasions. An- 
toinette made a great point of Christina's attendance, 
and Anne promised to do her best to gratify her aunt's 
wish in the matter. 

" I shall be very glad," she wrote, "if it is possible 
for Madame my sister to be present at the obsequies 
of my uncle — to whom God grant peace ! — and will do 
m}^ utmost to effect this, not only because of my own 
anxiety to see you and my cousins, but because I 
would gladly give you pleasure. "^ 

Accordingly, the two Duchesses, accompanied by 
the Count and Countess of Vaudemont and several 
nobles, arrived at Joinville on Saturday, the 29th of 
June, to condole with the widow and attend the 
funeral rites that were protracted during the next 
three days. Never was there a more attached family 
than this of the Guises . 

" 1 cannot tell you the grief I feel," wrote the 
Queen of Scotland to her bereaved mother. " You 
know as well as I do that I have lost the best father 
that ever child had, and am left both orphaned and 
widowed." 

^ Pimodan, 367; Bouille, 349; Bibliotheque Nationale, F.F. 
20,467, f. 39; Gaignieres Manuscripts, 349, f. 7. 

2 Pimodan, 375; Bibliotheque Nationale, F F. 20, 468, f. 9. 



336 REGENT OF LORRAINE [Bk. ix 

An imposing monument, adorned with rich marbles 
and bas-reUefs of the dead Prince's battles, was raised 
by Antoinette to her husband's memory in the church 
at Joinville. In the centre the Duke and Duchess 
were both represented clad in robes of state, kneeling 
with hands clasped together, and a long Latin epitaph 
relating the hero's great deeds was inscribed below, 
ending with the words : 

" Antoinette de Bourbon, his wife, and her six 
sons, have erected this tomb, in token of undying 
sorrow and love for an incomparable husband and 
the best of fathers."^ 



V. 

Charles V. had long cherished a wish to remove the 
bones of his ancestor Charles the Bold from the 
church of St. Georges at Nancy, where they had been 
buried after his defeat, and bring them to rest in 
his daughter Mary's tomb at Bruges. At first Chris- 
tina hesitated to give her consent, fearing to arouse 
the resentment of her subjects, who were proud of 
possessing this trophy of King Rene's victory, but 
the urgent entreaties of her aunts at length induced 
her to yield, and, after ascertaining that neither 
Vaudemont nor the States of Lorraine had any ob- 
jection to offer, she consented to her uncle's request, 
on condition that the removal of the remains should 
be effected as quietly as possible. Late in the evening 
of the 22nd of September, 1550, three imperial 
deputies, the Bishop of Cambray, the Chief Justice 
of Luxembourg, and the herald Toison d'Or, met 
the Provost and Canons of St. Georges in the crypt 

^ Bouille, i. 227. 



Sept, I550] CHARLES THE BOLD'S REMAINS 337 

of the collegiate church. A solemn requiem was 
chanted, after which the tomb was opened and the 
bones, wrapt in a white linen shroud, were reverently- 
laid in a wooden casket and committed to the charge 
of two friars. A gift of 100 gold crowns was made 
to the church in the Emperor's name, and the precious 
casket was placed on a chariot drawn by four black 
horses, escorted by a troop of twenty men-at-arms. 
The little procession travelled the same night to Metz, 
and thence across the frontier to Luxembourg. Bells 
were tolled in all the towns and villages on their 
way, and the De Profundis was chanted wherever a 
halt was made, until on the 24th the casket was 
safely deposited in the choir of the Cordeliers' church 
at Luxembourg. Here Charles of Burgundy's bones 
were placed in the grave of John of Luxembourg, 
the blind King of Bohemia, who fell at Crecy, until, 
nine years later, they were finally laid to rest by 
his daughter's side in the shrine of Our Lady at 
Bruges.^ 

When this pious act was safely accomplished, 
Christina set out with Anne of Lorraine and the Count 
and Countess of Vaudemont to join the imperial party 
at Augsburg. Charles, Philip, and Ferdinand, had 
been attending the Diet in this city since July, and 
were joined there by Mary of Hungary, who, however, 
was obliged to return to the Netherlands on the 
26th of September, owing to troubles on the French 
frontier. Christina's presence was the more welcome. 
On the 30th of the same month Philip and his uncle 
Ferdinand were riding in the fields near Augsburg, 
when they noticed a cloud of dust on the highroad, 
and, galloping off in thi« direction, met the Duchess 

^ Calmet, ii. 1296, iii. 423; Granvelle, iii. 430. 



338 REGENT OF LORRAINE [Bk. IX 

of Lorraine and her companions, with a large train 
of followers. Philip gallantly escorted his cousin to 
the Emperor's lodgings, where she spent the next 
three weeks. Her coming was the signal for a round 
of festivities. While Charles and Ferdinand rode 
together in earnest converse, or sat with closed doors 
debating public matters, Philip and a few chosen 
friends — the Prince of Piedmont, Duke Adolf, Pes- 
cara, and Ruy Gomez — spent the days with the 
Duchess and her ladies. Sometimes they went hunt- 
ing on the Bavarian plains, sometimes they danced 
or played cards, and every evening they met at supper 
in Christina's rooms .^ 

On the 1 6th of October a joust was held in the 
court of the Fuggers' house, and the Emperor, with 
his niece and Duchess Anne, looked on from the 
windows. Egmont and Vaudemont were judges, and 
Count Lalaing and Floris de Montmorency won the 
prizes. The Cardinal of Trent entertained the com- 
pany at supper, and left the next day for Genoa to 
receive Maximilian, the King of Bohemia, who had 
been sent for from Spain to take part in the family 
conference. Three days later Philip gave a tourna- 
ment on a grander scale, in honour of the Duchess, 
and entered the lists clad in ruby velvet and white 
satin, as he figures in the portrait which Titian painted . 
This time Christina's presence seems to have inspired 
him with unwonted prowess. He broke many lances, 
and won a fine gold chain, which he presented to his 
cousin. She on her part entertained the King of 
the Romans and all the knights who rode in the jousts 
at a sumptuous banquet and ball, which ended in 

^ Gachard, ii. 424; Bulletins de la Commission d'Histoire, 
serie 2, xii. 189. 



Oct., 1550] ROGER ASCHAM 339 

the Prince presenting rings to all the ladies and re- 
ceiving a kiss from each in turn. 

This festive evening marked the close of Christina's 
visit to Augsburg. The next morning she set out 
for Nancy, " leaving the Court sad and widowed," 
writes an Italian chronicler, " bereft of her presence, 
and without a lady to amuse the Princes or entertain 
the Emperor's guests." Philip escorted her for some 
miles on her journey, and took an affectionate fare- 
well of his favourite cousin, whom he never saw again 
until he was the husband of Mary Tudor. ^ 

Christina's route lay through the duchy of Wiirtem- 
berg and along the valley of the Neckar. At Esslin- 
gen, the free imperial city on the banks of this river 
she met the new English Ambassador, Sir Richard 
Morosyne, on his way to Augsburg. In his train 
was a young secretary called Roger Ascham. He had 
been Lady Jane Grey's tutor, and had left his Greek 
studies and pleasant college life at Cambridge with 
some reluctance, but was keenly enjoying his first 
sight of foreign parts. The journey up the Rhine in 
a fair barge with goodly glass windows afforded him 
great pleasure. He gazed in admiration at the 
castles and abbeys perched on the crags, and the 
vines laden with purple grapes that grew in terraces 
along the banks, while the river at Spires — " broader 
a great deal than the Thames at Greenwich " — made 
him realize for the first time why the Greeks wor- 
shipped river-gods. In the Court chapel at Brussels 
he caught a glimpse of Queen Eleanor, 

" looking as fair and white as a dove in her em- 
broidered linen robe, with her ladies clad in black 
velvet with gold chains, and white plumes in their 
caps, like boys rather than maidens." 

^ Guazzo, 730; Gachard, ii. 424. 



340 REGENT OF LORRAINE LBk. ix 

Then, as he rode through Tongres, he met the 
Queen of Hungary posting back from Augsburg, with 
only thirty courtiers in her train, " having outridden 
and wearied all the rest, and taken thirteen days to 
do a journey that men can scarce do in seventeen!" 
" She is a virago," the young Englishman remarked, 
" never so well as when she is flinging on horseback or 
hunting all day." ^ Now, at Esslingen, Ascham fell in 
with another noble lady, " the Duchess of Milan and 
Lorraine, daughter to the King of Denmark." Unlike 
Mary of Hungary, who posted so fast that no ladies 
could keep pace with her, Christina was always attended 
with a large retinue. Brantome tells us that at Court 
she assumed a state which rivalled that of the Queen 
of France herself. On this journey she rode a white 
palfrey, and was followed by sixteen maids of honour 
on horseback and four chariots filled with ladies, 
escorted by a troop of 300 horse. Thirty-six mules 
and a dozen waggons, laden with chamber-stuff, 
brought up the rear, and a great crowd of " rascals 
belonging to her kitchen and stables came drabbling 
in the dirt on foot." Roger looked with admiration 
at the fine horses with their rich trappings, and was 
profoundly impressed by the tall stature and stately 
bearing of the Duchess. " I have never seen a lady of 
her port in all my life ! " he exclaimed . His interest was 
heightened when he heard " that she should once have 
married King Henry VIH., before my Lady Anne of 
Cleves," and was told that she had now been with the 
Emperor at Augsburg, " where she was thought by 
some to have been a- wooing to the Prince of Spain. "^ 

From Esslingen, Christina had intended to go to 
Heidelberg, on a visit to her sister, but the unsettled 
^ Ascham, ii. 245-257. ^ jn^,^ ij. 260. 



Aug., 1550] DISCORD IN IMPERIAL FAMILY 341 

state of affairs made her presence necessary at home, 
and she hurried on to Nancy. The French were once 
more busy with preparations for war, and grew every 
day more insolent in their language. Even the Em- 
peror's old ally, the Constable Montmorency, who had 
been recalled to Court by Henry XL, joined the war 
party, and seemed to be as violent as the Guises. 
At the same time fresh trouble was brewing in Ger- 
many. The Interim had proved very unpopular. 
Magdeburg refused to accept the new edict, and 
Maurice of Saxony, who was sent against the city, 
carried on the siege in so half-hearted a manner that 
doubts of his loyalty were felt, while the Marquis 
Albert kept away from Court and sulked, like Achilles 
of old, in his tent. But the worst of all the Emperor's 
troubles were those which had arisen in his own 
family. 

Granvelle confessed to Paget at Brussels that it 
had not been easy for Charles to obtain the recogni- 
tion of his son as his successor in Flanders, and that 
he foresaw this would be a far harder matter in 
Germany. From the first, Philip's haughty manners 
and Spanish reserve were bitterly resented by the 
Princes of the Empire, and Charles realized with 
dismay how difficult it would be to obtain their 
consent to the adoption of his son as coadjutor of 
the King of the Romans, and his ultimate successor 
on the imperial throne. He had first of all to reckon 
with Ferdinand. This monarch had always been on 
the most affectionate terms with his brother, but was 
naturally indignant when rumours reached him, 
through the Marquis Albert's servants, that the Em- 
peror intended to make Philip King of the Romans 
in his place. In vain his sister Mary assured him that 

23 



342 REGENT OF LORRAINE [Bk. ix 

this idea had never been entertained. His resentment 
was kindled, and he and King MaximiHan were pre- 
pared to resist stoutly any infringement of their rights.^ 

Everyone noticed how grave and pensive Charles 
appeared when he entered Augsburg, and, although 
the prolonged family conferences which took place 
were conducted in strict secrecy, rumour was busy 
with conjecture, and the latest gossip from Augsburg 
was greedily devoured at the French Court. At 
this critical moment Chancellor Granvelle, who for 
twenty-five years had been Charles's most trusted 
Councillor, died after a few days' illness at Augsburg. 
Friends and foes alike expressed their grief in the 
warmest terms . The Constable wrote letters of condo- 
lence to his widow, and Charles and Ferdinand came in 
person to visit Madame Nicole, but found this excellent 
woman too much overcome with grief to be able to 
speak. It was an irreparable loss to the Emperor 
and no one was better aware of this than himself. 
" My son," he wrote to Philip, " you and I have lost 
a good bed of down."^ Granvelle's son, Antoine 
Perrenot, the Bishop of Arras, succeeded him as 
imperial Chancellor, but had neither his father's 
wisdom nor experience, and was little fitted to cope 
with the gravity of the situation. 

Charles now sent for the Queen of Hungary, who 
hastened to Augsburg in September; but even she 
could effect little. 

" Queen Mary," wrote Stroppiana, the Duke of 
Savoy's Ambassador, " is here to persuade the King 
of the Romans to accept the Prince of Spain as co- 
adjutor, but finds the ground very hard, and by what 
I hear can obtain nothing."^ 

^ Bucholtz, vi. 458. 2 Granvelle, i. 2-6, iii. 448, 451. 

3 Bulletins, etc., serie 2, xii. 188. 



Dec, 1550] THE EMPEROR'S ANXIETY 343 

After Mary's departure, Charles's difficulties in- 
creased every day, and Christina tried in vain to 
pour oil on the troubled waters. She amused Philip, 
and did her best to console the Emperor in his fits 
of profound dejection. When she was gone he turned 
once more to Mary, and begged her earnestly to come 
to his help. 

" I had some hope," he wrote on the 6th of De- 
cember," that the King our nephewmight be persuaded 
to consent to the only plan by which the greatness 
and stability of our house can be maintained. But, 
as you will see by this letter, which my brother gave 
me the day before yesterday, I begin to feel that my 
hope was vain. And I think that in this he does me 
great wrong, when I have done so much for him. 
My patience is almost at an end, and I wish with all 
my heart that you were here, as you can help me more 
than anyone else. So I beg you to hasten your 
coming as soon as possible, and shall await your 
arrival with the utmost anxiety." 

To this letter, which had been dictated to his 
secretary, Charles added the following postscript, 
written with his own gouty hand : 

" I can assure you, my dear sister, that I can bear 
no more unless I am to burst. Certainly I never felt 
all that the dead King of France did against me, nor 
all that the present one is trying to do, nor yet the 
affronts which the Constable puts upon us now, half 
as keenly as I have felt and am feeling the treatment 
which I have received from the King my brother. 
I can only pray God to grant him good-will and under- 
standing, and give me strength and patience, in order 
that we ma}^ arrive at some agreement, and that, if 
your coming does not serve to convert him, it rriay 
at least give me some consolation. 

" Your loving brother, 

" Charles."! 

^ Lanz, iii. ii. 



344 REGENT OF LORRAINE [Bk. ix 

On receiving this letter, Mary started for Augsburg 
without a moment's delay. Attended only by the 
Bishop of Cambray and three ladies , the brave Queen 
rode all the way from Binche to Augsburg in twelve 
days, and arrived at five o'clock on the evening of 
New Year's Day, 1 5 5 1 . 

All through November and December the Emperor 
hardly left his room. When he dined with the 
Knights of the Fleece on St. Andrew's Day, the hall 
was heated like a furnace, and Marillac, the French 
Ambassador, remarked that he looked so old and 
feeble he could not be long for this world. ^ But on 
the Feast of the Three Kings he dined in public, with 
his brother and sister, and his two nephews, Maxi- 
milian, who had arrived from Spain on the loth of 
December, and the young Archduke Ferdinand. 
They were, to all appearances, a happy and united 
family, and Stroppiana noted an evident improve- 
ment in the Emperor's spirits. Roger Ascham 
watched these illustrious personages with keen in- 
terest. He describes how Charles and Ferdinand sat 
under the cloth of state and ate together very hand- 
somely, " his Chapel singing wonderful cunningly all 
dinner-time." " The Emperor," he remarked, " hath 
a good face, constant air, and looked somewhat like the 
parson of Epurstone. He wore a black taffety gown, 
and furred nightcap on his head, and fed well of a capon 
— I have had a better from mine hostess Barnes many 
times." Ferdinand he describes as " a very homely 
man, gentle to be spoken to of any man," the Prince of 
Spain as " not in all so wise as his father." But King 
Max was Roger's favourite — " a Prince peerless " in 
his eyes. He is never tired of extolling this " worthy 

^ P. de Vaissidre, " Vie de Charles de Marillac," 174, 178. 



JAN., 1551] FAMILY CONFERENCES 345 

gentleman, learned, wise, liberal, gentle, loved and 
praised of alL"-*^ 

During the next few weeks prolonged conferences 
were held in the Emperor's rooms. King Max from 
the first flatly refused to consent to Philip's appoint- 
ment as coadjutor with the King of the Romans, 
and the quarrel waxed hot between them. Night 
and day Arras went secretly to and fro with letters 
between Charles and Ferdinand. If the Queen of 
Hungary was seen leaving the King of the Romans 
with flushed face and flashing eyes, it was a sure sigri 
that things were going badly for the Emperor, 11 
Ferdinand and his sons wore a joyous air, and there 
were tokens of affection between them and Mary, 
Stroppiana and Marillac were satisfied that all was 
going well.^ As for Philip and Max, it was easy to 
see that there was no love lost between them. They 
met occasionally at night in Charles's rooms and 
exchanged formal greetings, but never paid each other 
visits or attended Mass and took meals together. 
The rivalry between the two Princes became every 
day more marked. 

" The King of Bohemia," writes Marillac, " is 
frank, gay, and fearless, and is as much beloved by 
the Germans as Don Philip is disliked. His Spanish 
education, haughty bearing, and suspicious nature, 
all help to make him unpopular, although to please 
his father he wears German clothes and tries to adopt 
German customs, even with regard to drink, so that 
two or three times he is said to have taken more than 
he could well carry. "^ 

Nor was Philip more fortunate in his attempts to 
distinguish himself in the tilting. In the jousts held 

1 Ascham, ii. 268. 2 Bulletins, serie 2, xii. 188. 

^ Vaissidre, 186-188. 



346 REGENT OF LORRAINE [Bk. ix 

at Candlemas, Marillac reports that all jousted badly, 
but Philip worst of all, for he never broke a single 
lance ; and Ascham remarks that the Prince of Spain 
" jousted genteelly, for he neither hurt himself, nor 
his horse and spear, nor him that he ran with." He 
redeemed his character to some extent, however, in 
a tournament given a week later in the Queen's 
honour, and succeeded in winning one prize ; while the 
Prince of Orange and Archduke Ferdinand were the 
heroes of the day. " And as for noble Max, he ran not 
at all." 1 

A few days afterwards the Diet was prorogued, 
and Stroppiana told Marillac that owing to Mary's 
influence a secret agreement had been framed, by 
which Philip was to have a share in the administra- 
tion of imperial affairs, and that, when he succeeded 
his uncle as Emperor, Maximilian should become 
King of the Romans. On the loth of March an 
agreement to this effect was drawn up by the Bishop 
of Arras, and signed by all four Princes. On the same 
day Mary gave a farewell banquet, after which Fer- 
dinand took an affectionate farewell of his brother, 
and went to Vienna with his sons. 

" Noble Max," wrote Ascham, " goes to meet the 
Turk. I pray God he may give him an overthrow. 
He taketh with him the hearts, good-will, and prayers, 
of rich and poor."^ 

On the 7th of April Mary left for Brussels, after 
giving an audience to Morosyne, who saw that " she 
was in the dumps," although she smiled two or three 
times and tried to hide her feelings.^ By this time 
she had probably realized how fruitless all attempts 

^ Ascham, ii. 280; Gachard, ii. 853. ^ Ascham, ii. 278. 

^ Calendar of State Papers, Foreign, Edward VI., i. 85. 



April, 155 i] THE EMPEROR DISAPPOINTED 347 

to conciliate the German Princes would prove. The 
Electors unanimously declined to sanction the agree- 
ment which had been the cause of so many heart- 
burnings, and it remained a dead letter. The Arch- 
bishop of Treves declared that there could only be 
one Emperor in Germany and one sun in heaven. 
The Palatine, says Morosyne, like the wise old fox 
that he was, replied that so important a question 
needed time for consideration, and Joachim of Bran- 
denburg vowed that he would never consent to a 
scheme which would be odious to all Germany.^ 
Philip returned to Spain at the end of May, and the 
Emperor was reluctantly compelled to accept the 
inevitable, and surrender the long-cherished hope 
that his son would succeed to his vast empire. 



VI. 

While the eyes of all Europe were fixed on the 
imperial family at Augsburg, Christina waited anx- 
iously for news in her palace at Nancy. She had sent 
two of her Italian secretaries, Innocenzo Gadio and 
Massimo del Pero, to wait on the Queen of Hungary, 
with strict orders to keep her informed of all that was 
happening. Gadio 's cipher letters have unluckily 
disappeared, but some of those addressed to him by 
Niccolo Belloni have recently been discovered in 
a private library near Pavia.^ Belloni belonged to 
a good Milanese family, and had, at his parents' 
entreaty, been retained by the Duchess in her service 

1 Bucholtz, vi. 467. 

2 These extracts frora manuscripts preserved in the BibHoteca 
of Zelada, near Pavia, are published by the kind permission of 
their owner. Count Antonio Cavagna-Sangiuliani. 



348 REGENT OF LORRAINE [Bk. ix 

when she left Italy. He had succeeded Benedetto 
da Corte as master of her household, and followed 
Christina to Lorraine. Niccolo enjoyed his mistress's 
complete confidence, and his letters to Messer 
Innocenzo reveal all that was passing in her mind at 
this critical moment. On the 2nd of January, 1551, 
he writes : 

" Honoured Friend, 

" Madame's page arrived a few days ago with 
your letters, which were most anxiously expected and 
gratefully read by Her Excellency. The next morn- 
ing she received those which came by Heidelberg, and 
yesterday those which you sent by the Flemish ser- 
vant, which gave Her Excellency still greater pleasure. 
She deciphered them herself, and read them over 
several times. You will continue to write as before, 
and I will tell you all I hear from other quarters. Do 
not fail to report every detail of the difficulties which 
are delaying the negotiations, using Madame's ordinary 
cipher for this purpose. ... I send this messenger by 
the post to seek for news, so do not keep him at Augs- 
burg more than a day, even if Monsignore d 'Arras's 
letter is not ready, as another courier will be sent in 
four or five days. I have received Don Ferrante's 
letters, and should be glad to know if my letters for 
Fanzoni and Trissino are gone to Milan. Tell Signor 
Badoer [the Venetian Ambassador] that I will not fail 
to satisfy his curiosity, but it will take some time to 
obtain the desired information and will require great 
caution. . . . Send me some fine writing-paper, please 
— very fine, I repeat, because it is for Madame." 

Christina's Milanese servants evidently carried on 
a correspondence with their friends at home through 
the imperial messengers who were sent from Augsburg 
to the Viceroy, and the Princess of Macedonia con- 
stantly despatched packets to Milan and Mantua by 
the same channel, while the Duchess herself often 
wrote to Don Ferrante regarding the payment of her 



Feb., 1551] BELLONI'S LETTERS 349 

dowry and questions affecting the city of Tortona. 
A week later Christina sent a Lorraine gentleman, 
Monsieur de Saint-Hilaire, to convey her salutations 
to the King of Bohemia, on his arrival at Augsburg, 
and Belloni took this opportunity to beg Gadio to be 
diligent in reporting everything he heard, for Madame 's 
benefit, assuring him that Her Excellency read his 
letters again and again, and believed implicitly in 
their contents. On the 12th of February he repeated 
the same orders : 

" It would be well if you would write fuller par- 
ticulars of the great matter in hand, above all what- 
ever you hear of the angry disputes and quarrels which 
have arisen between the Prince and the King of 
Bohemia, including all the bad language which they 
use — in fact, everything that is said on the subject. 
It will all be treated as strictly confidential, and I for 
my part know that the King will not be governed by 
the Prince, and will use rude and contemptuous words, 
as you may imagine ! These are the things that Her 
Highness wishes to learn from your letters. ... I may 
possibly take a flight to the Court of France, so, if you 
wish to write to me privately, address your letters to 
the Princess of Macedonia, who will keep them safely 
for me, especially if they come from Italy. Your 
letters of the 29th of January and 3rd of this month 
have arrived, and are, as usual, most welcome, and 
Her Excellency agrees with you that nothing has 
really been arranged. Once the business for which 
you were sent to Augsburg is settled. Her Excellency 
thinks you may as well return, and be sure that you 
bring plenty of letters for Her Excellency from all the 
world, and a whole waggon-load of news ! I am sorry 
to hear that your horse has hurt his foot and you 
have had to sell him cheap. You must procure 
another, and Madame will pay for it all. Only let us 
have the truth about these negotiations !" 

But the Duchess changed her mind again, and Inno- 
cenzo was desired to stay at Augsburg as long as the 



350 REGENT OF LORRAINE [Bk. ix 

Queen was there, even if theKing and his sons had left, 
in order that she might hear all that her aunt had to 
tell of these important matters. Niccolo's last letter 
to Augsburg is dated the 13th of March, and contains 
a reminder to Gadio to bring the writing-paper for 
Madame, and to make inquiries about a new method 
of coining money at the Imperial Court, which had 
excited the Princess of Macedonia's curiosity.^ The 
flight to the French Court which Niccolo meditated 
in March, 1 5 5 1 , was taken in the company of the Count 
of Vaudemont, who went to Blois to pay his respects 
to the King and Queen, and discover if there were any 
truth in the sinister report that Henry II. was planning 
the conquest of Lorraine. But he only met with 
civil speeches, and found the Court on the eve of a 
journey to Brittany, to meet the Dowager Queen of 
Scotland, who was coming over to see her child and 
visit her aged mother at Joinville. So the Count was 
able to allay his sister-in-law's alarms, and, instead 
of the dreaded threats of invasion, brought back a 
proposal from the King that her son should be affi- 
anced to one of his little daughters. The offer excited 
some surprise, considering the strained relations that 
existed between Henry II. and Charles V., but Chris- 
tina returned a courteous reply, and promised to lay 
the matter before the States of Lorraine .^ For the 
present she felt that she could breathe freely and give 
herself up unreservedly to the enjoyment of a visit 
which she was expecting from her sister Dorothea. 

Since the restoration of peace in Germany, the Elector 
Palatine had devoted his time and money to the im- 

^ Manuscript vii., Biblioteca di Zelada. 

2 Calendar of State Papers, Foreign, Edward VI., i. 79; Gran- 
velle, iii. 522. 



May, 1551] THE PALATINE'S VISIT 351 

provement of his ancestral castle at Heidelberg. His 
natural love of building found expression in the noble 
Renaissance court, with the lovely oriel and grand 
Hall of Mirrors, where we may still read " Frau 
Dorothea's " name, and the arms of the Three King- 
doms by the side of the Palatine's lion and the badge 
of the Golden Fleece. But the passion for travel and 
adventure was still strong in the old Palsgrave's 
breast, and when the last stone had been placed on the 
lofty bell-tower he and his wife set out, with a great 
company of courtiers and ladies, for Lorraine. They 
sailed down the Rhine to Coblenz, and, taking horse, 
rode through Treves and Metz, where Christina met 
them, and the whole party proceeded to Pont-a- 
Mousson and the Count of Vaudemont's castle at 
Nomeny. Here they attended the christening of the 
Countess's daughter, and Frederic stood sponsor, while 
his wife was proxy for the French Queen, after whom 
the child was named. After a week of festivities, the 
party went on to a hunt at Conde, the Duke's fair 
chateau in the forest on the banks of the Moselle, and 
killed five stags. Hubert, who accompanied his 
master and gives every detail of the journey, relates 
how the Palatine, tired with the day's sport, accepted 
a seat in the Duchess's chariot, and how his com- 
panion. Count Jacob von Busch, being a big man, 
weighed down the carriage on one side, much to the 
amusement of Dorothea, who laughed till the tears 
ran down her cheeks. But heavy rains had made 
the roads almost impassable, and presently the wheels 
caught in a rut and the chariot was upset. The ladies 
were covered with mud, and Dorothea's face was 
badly scratched ; but she made light of the accident, 
and only laughed the more as, leaving the lumbering 



352 REGENT OF LORRAINE [Bk. ix 

coach in the ditch, they mounted horses to ride to 
Nancy. At the gates of the city they were met by the 
young Duke Charles, a handsome boy of eight, who 
Hfted his cap with charming grace, and, springing to the 
ground, embraced his uncle and aunt, and rode at their 
side, conversing in a way that amazed the Germans. 

" We all wondered," writes Hubert, " at the beauty 
and wisdom of the boy, who is indeed remarkably 
intelligent, and has been trained by his lady mother 
in all knowledge and courtesy."^ 

His sisters, Renee and Dorothea, received the guests 
at the palace gates, " both lovely little maidens," says 
Hubert, " only that the youngest is lame and cannot 
walk, for which cause her uncle and aunt embraced 
her the more tenderly . ' ' All the fatigues of the j ourney 
were forgotten in the delights of the week which the 
travellers spent at Nancy. The Duchess prepared a 
new pastime for each day, and masques, jousts, and 
dances, followed each other in gay succession. On the 
last day Christina took her guests to the beautiful 
grassy vale known as the Ochsenthal. It was a lovely 
May morning, and a banquet was served in a green 
bower on the banks of the stream. Suddenly a merry 
blast of bugles rang out, and, while huntsmen and dogs 
chased the deer, two parties of horse galloped up, and, 
charging each other, crossed swords and fired guns . "It 
might have been an invasion of the Moors !" exclaims 
Hubert, who enjoyed the surprise as much as anyone. 
At sunset the warriors returned to the palace, where 
the fairest maidens of the Duchess's Court crowned 
the victors with roses, and danced with them till 
morning. The next day Frederic and Dorothea made 
the Duchess and her children and servants handsome 
^ Hubertus Thomas, 464. 



May, I55I] TOO LITTLE BEER 353 

presents of gold chains and rings and brooches, and 
Christina, not to be outdone, gave Hubert a massive 
silver tankard, begging him to keep it in remembrance 
of her, and continue to serve the Palatine and her 
sister as well in the future as he had done in the past. 
After this we need not wonder at the glowing pages in 
which the honest secretary praises the delicacy of the 
viands, the choice flavour of the wines set before the 
guests, and the polished manners of the Court of Nancy. 

" Indeed," he adds, " some of our Germans com- 
plained that there was too little beer, because people 
here do not sit up drinking all night, and go to bed 
like pigs, as we do at Heidelberg."^ 

The young Duke and his sisters accompanied the 
guests to Luneville, where they spent Whitsuntide 
together and took their leave, the little ladies shedding 
many tears at parting from their aunt. Even then 
Christina could not tear herself from her sister, and the 
next day, as the Palatine and his wife were dining at 
one of the Duke's country-houses on their route, the 
Duchess suddenly appeared, riding up the hill. Hubert 
and his comrades ran out to welcome her, waving 
green boughs in their hands, and greeted her with 
ringing cheers, and they all sat down to a merry meal. 
Dorothea begged her sister to accompany her to 
Alsace; but the Duchess could not leave home, and 
the travellers pushed on that night to Strasburg, and 
on the ist of June reached Heidelberg, where they 
were greeted by a gay peal of bells from the new-built 
tower. It was the last visit that either Frederic or his 
wife ever paid to Lorraine. When the sisters met again, 
Christina was an exile and a fugitive, and had lost son 
and home, together with all that she loved best on earth . 
^ Hubertus Thomas, 467; L. Haiisser, i. 625. 



BOOK X 

THE FRENCH INVASION 
1551— 1553 

I. 

Michaelmas Day, 1551, was memorable, both in 
France and Germany, for a snowstorm of extraordi- 
nary severity, followed by an alarming earthquake and 
violent tempest, omens, as it proved, of impending 
disasters. 

In this same month of September, Henry II. recalled 
his Ambassador from Augsburg. Ten days later he 
declared war. For some time past he had been sup- 
porting Ottavio Farnese, who was in open revolt 
against his father-in-law, and carrying on secret in- 
trigues with Maurice of Saxony and the Protestant 
Electors. The Marquis Albert had never forgiven the 
Emperor for the affronts of which he imagined himself 
to be the victim, and, after vainly offering his sword to 
the English King and his hand to Princess Mary, he 
went to France as Maurice's emissary. Here he con- 
cluded a secret treaty, which was signed at Friedewald 
on the 5th of October by the German Princes, and 
ratified at Chambord by Henry 11.^ 

Charles's affairs were in a critical state. The war 

1 Granvelle, iii. 630; Henne, ix. 162; T. Juste, 185. 
354 



Sept., I55I] INTRIGUES WITH FRANCE 355 

of Parma was a heavy drain on his resources, and had 
swallowed up the gold of Mexico and the best Spanish 
soldiers, while Maurice's treachery had converted the 
strongest body of imperial Lands knechten into foes. 

" The Emperor doth little yet," wrote Roger 
Ascham from Augsburg, " but the French be a great 
deal aforehand. He is wise enough, but hath many 
irons in the fire, and everyone alone to give him work 
enough, the Turk by land and sea, the French sitting 
on his skirts, beside Magdeburg and the rest."^ 

The discontent in Augsburg rose to the highest 
pitch when, one day in September, ten preachers were 
summarily banished. The imperial residence was 
besieged by crowds of furious women, clamouring to 
have their babes christened, and guards were doubled 
at every gate, while Charles sat within, enfeebled by 
gout and reluctant to face the coming peril. 

In vain Mary of Hungary warned him of Maurice 
and Albert's intrigues with France, and told him that 
his incredulity was like to cost him very dear, and 
that if he did not take care he would lose, not only 
Germany, but also the Netherlands, which were not the 
meanest feather in his cap . Both he and Arras refused 
to listen. Instead of following his sister's advice and 
remaining at Worms or Spires to control Germany 
and protect Lorraine, Charles lingered on at Augsburg 
after war was declared, and persisted in taking refuge 
at Innsbruck. After protracted delays, he at length 
left Augsburg on the 21st of October, dragging the 
reluctant Ambassadors in his train, and crossed " the 
cold Alps, already," sighed Ascham, " full of snow," 
to descend on Tyrol .^ 

^ Ascham, ii. 313; Papiers d'^^tat, viii.. Archives du Royaume, 
Bruxelles. ^ Lanz, iii. 75; Granvelle, iii. 527. 



356 THE FRENCH INVASION [Bk. X 

Meanwhile his niece was watching the course of 
events with increasing anxiety. All the French 
King's fine promises could not allay Christina's fears, 
as the autumn months went by, and the din of warlike 
preparations sounded louder in her ears. In her 
terror she clung to the Guises, hoping that their 
influent*s might save her son and his realm from ruin- 
On the 2oth of July she went to Joinville to meet the 
Dowager Queen of Scotland and stand proxy for 
Queen Catherine at the christening of Francis of 
Guise's daughter, afterwards the notorious Duchess 
of Montpensier, When, in October, the young Duke 
of Longueville died suddenly, on the eve of his mother's 
departure, Christina once more went to condole with 
Antoinette on the loss of her " Benjamin."^ Both 
she and Anne, who came to Nancy at her earnest 
request, were full of sympathy for the venerable 
Duchess in the trials that clouded her declining years. 
A fresh proof of Christina's anxiety to gratify her 
powerful relatives appears in a letter which she wrote to 
her uncle from Pont-a-Mousson on the 28th of October, 
begging him to grant a request of the Cardinal regard- 
ing the Abbey of Gorzes, which he had lately annexed 
to his vast possessions. 

" I could not refuse this petition," she adds, " as 
my Lord Cardinal is so near of kin to my children, and 
has always treated me and my son with so much kind- 
ness and affection. And I humbly beg Your Majesty 
to show him favour, in order that he may see that I 
do all that is possible to please him and his house. "^ 

As the year drew to its close, the insolence of the 
French increased, and their incursions and depredations 

1 Pimodan, 375, 381. 

2 Lettres des Seigijeurs, hi. 104, Archives du Royaume, 
Bruxelles. 



Jan., 1552] FRENCH INTRIGUES 357 

were a perpetual source of annoyance to the people of 
Lorraine. At the same time their intrigues fomented dis- 
content among the nobles, some of whom were annoyed 
at the appointment of Monsieur de Montbardon to 
be the young Duke's tutor. This French Baron had 
originally followed the Constable of Bourbon into exile, 
and, after being for many years in the Emperor's 
service, had by his wish accompanied Christina to 
Lorraine. And both the Regents had good reason to 
doubt the loyalty of one of the Lorraine magnates, 
Jean de Salm, a son of the late Marshal, commonly 
known as the Rhinegrave, who had lately received the 
Order of St . Michel from Henry 1 1 . All Christina could 
do in this critical state of affairs was to keep Mary of 
Hungary and the Emperor fully informed of current 
events. 

On the 7th of January the Sieur de Tassigny, an 
agent whom the Queen had sent to Nancy, received a 
command from a Court page to come to the Duchess's 
rooms that night, in order that she might tell him 
certain things which she dared not write. Tassigny 
obeyed the summons, and had a long talk with Chris- 
tina in the privacy of her own chamber. She told 
him that the French were assembling in great force on 
the frontier, and that Lorraine would be the first 
country to be attacked. And she further informed 
him that certain great personages in Germany, the 
Marquis Albert, Duke Maurice, and others, were in 
secret communication with the King, and were about 
to take up arms against the Emperor, and join the 
French when they crossed the Rhine. The Rhine- 
grave had been often seen going to and fro in disguise 
between the King and Duke Maurice. Moreover, a 
German had lately told the Duchess that he had been 

24 



358 THE FRENCH INVASION [Bk.x 

at table with the Elector the day before, and had 
heard him vow that he would release his father-in-law, 
the captive Landgrave of Hesse, were he at the Em- 
peror's own side ! When another guest warned Duke 
Maurice to be more careful, lest his rash words should 
be repeated, he replied defiantly: " What I say here 
is meant for all the world to hear." 

This confidential conversation was faithfully re- 
ported to Mary of Hungary by Tassigny, who con- 
cluded his letter with the following words : 

" En somme, Madame complains that she is in a 
terrible position, seeing that Lorraine will be entirely 
at the mercy of the French, and that there is not a 
single person in whom she can trust and who is loyal 
to His Imperial Majesty, excepting Monsieur de Bas- 
sompierre, her chief Councillor, and Monsieur de 
Vaudemont, who is quite alienated from France, 
and entirely devoted to the Emperor, saying that it 
is impossible to serve two masters."^ 

By Christina's wish, Tassigny went on to Nomeny 
the next day, and had a long interview with Vaude- 
mont, who assured him that every word spoken by 
Her Excellency was true, that at Candlemas there 
would be a great revolt in Germany, and that the 
French King meant to seize the three bishoprics — 
Toul, Verdun, and Metz. The only way to prevent 
this would be for the Emperor to place strong garrisons 
in these cities , and thus defeat his enemies ' plans . The 
Count's information, as time showed, was perfectly 
accurate, and, in spite of all that has been alleged to 
the contrary, he was probably loyal to the Duchess, 
who never doubted his honesty, and to whom he seems 
to have been sincerely attached. But he was timid 

* Lettres des Seigneurs, iii. 90. 



Feb., 1552] LE VOYAGE D'AUSTRASIE 359 

and vacillating, and lacked courage and firmness to 
face the crisis when it came. 

Mary, to whom Christina turned in this extremity, 
was powerless to help. Every available man was 
needed to defend the Low Countries, and she could 
only advise her niece to claim the protection of the 
Empire for her son's State, and, if Lorraine were 
actually invaded, retire with her children to the Pala- 
tinate. Even Charles began to wake up from his 
lethargy, and to realize too late that Mary had been 
right all the time. At Christmas Stroppiana wrote 
from Innsbruck: 

" We begin to suspect the existence of a plot against 
the Emperor, hidden under the cloak of a military 
revolt. Maurice is not a stranger to this conspiracy, 
and Albert has let his soldiers loose and is ravaging 
Germany."^ 

A few weeks later Christina's secretary, who kept 
Arras informed of all that was happening in Lorraine, 
sent the Emperor a message to say that the King was 
collecting his forces at Chalons, and that Maurice was 
marching on Augsburg at the head oi his Landsknechten , 
although no one knew whether he meant to fight for 
the King or the Emperor .^ 

On the 5th of February Henry issued a manifesto, 
stamped with the cap of liberty, proclaiming himself 
the protector of the Germans and their deliverer from 
the Emperor's yoke, and, after solemnly invoking 
St. Denis's help, set out for Reims with the Queen and 
Dauphin. The gilded youth of France all flocked to 
the camp at Chalons, eager to start on the voyage 
d'Austrasie, as the expedition was termed by these 

1 Bulletins, etc., serie 2, xii. 189. 

2 Lettres des Seigneurs, iv. 108 ; Granvelle, iii. 613. 



36o THE FRENCH INVASION [Bk. x 

gay spirits, and drive Charles of Austria out of Ger- 
many. The Constable was appointed to the chief 
command, Aumale was made Captain of the horse, 
and the Rhinegrave Colonel of the German in- 
fantry. 

As soon as the news reached Nancy, the Duchess 
sent Bassompierre to Brussels, and told the Queen 
that terror reigned everywhere, although it was 
doubtful if Henry would march on Germany or turn 
aside to invade Lorraine. The alarm which filled the 
hearts of these two defenceless women is reflected in 
the letters which Anne and Christina wrote during 
these anxious days^. The wildest rumours were 
abroad, and death and ruin seemed to be staring them 
in the face. Bassompierre soon returned with a letter 
from Mary, thanking Anne for her valuable informa- 
tion, and begging her not to desert the sorely- tried 
Duchess at this crisis. Since Madame was good 
enough to honour her with her commands, Anne 
asked nothing better than to obey. She wrote daily 
to Brussels, giving minute details of the King's ad- 
vance. On the 15th of March he left Reims, and 
reached Joinville on the 22nd. From here he sent 
Commissioners to Nancy to inform the Duchess that 
her towns would not be attacked, and that there was 
no need to fortify them. The Regents only raised a 
sufficient body of men under the Governor of Nancy, 
Baron d'Haussonville, to protect the Duke's person. 
Following her aunt's advice, Christina sent one of her 
secretaries to Innsbruck to ask the Emperor for assist- 
ance; but Charles could only lament his inability to 
come to her help, and advise her to ask the French King 
to respect the neutrality of Lorraine. This was her 
only hope, and, encouraged by the Cardinal of Guise, 



March, 1552] HENRY II. AT JOINVILLE 361 

she and Anne went to Joinville on the ist of April, 
and sought an audience from the King.^ 

Here they were received in the kindest manner 
by the old Duchess, and conducted into Henry's 
presence by the Constable. The King received them 
courteously, and conversed some time with them in 
a friendly manner. Christina begged him to take her 
son under his protection, and reminded him that his 
grandmother, Renee de Bourbon, was a Princess of 
the blood royal ; then, gathering courage, she told him 
that she had been accused of designs against him by 
slanderous tongues, and asked nothing better than to 
show that she was absolutely innocent of these charges. 
" So great a lady," remarked the Sieur de Rabutin, 
who witnessed the interview, " must have been very 
reluctant to plead so humbly, and I doubt if she would 
ever have taken a step so contrary to her natural 
inclination if her uncle had been able to give her 
help." 2 The King listened civilly, and replied that 
he bore her no ill-will whatsoever, but was obliged to 
secure the frontier and protect himself from danger on 
the side of Lorraine. As for her son, he cherished 
the most friendly feelings for him, and was anxious to 
see him affianced to his own daughter, if the Duchess 
were agreeable. This kind language and the 
affection shown her by the Cardinal and his mother 
relieved Christina's worst fears. She begged the 
King to do her the honour of staying under her roof 
if he came in that direction, and returned to Nancy 
with the Constable, who escorted the two Duchesses 
home, in the most amiable fashion, and then went 
on to take possession of Toul. 

^ Lettres des Seigneurs, iv. 42, 108. 

2 Calmet, ii. 1290; F. de Rabutin, " Collection de Memoires," 
xxxvii. 185. 



362 THE FRENCH INVASION [Bk. x 

On her return, Christina wrote the following letter 
to the Emperor : 

" MONSEIGNEUR, 

" I have been to Joinville in accordance with 
Your Majesty's advice, and have sent full particulars of 
my interview with the King to Monsieur d 'Arras. I 
beg you, Monseigneur, to give me your commands as 
to my future conduct, as my only wish is to obey 
Your Majesty to the end of my life. 

" Your very humble and very obedient niece, 

" Chrestienne. 

" From Nancy, April 5, 1552."^ 

A few days of anxious suspense followed. The 
French Queen fell ill of quinsy, and was in danger of 
her life. Solemn prayers and litanies were chanted 
for her recovery in all the churches, and Diane of 
Poitiers hastened to Joinville, where she found the 
King " playing the good husband at his wife's bed- 
side. "^ But by Palm Sunday Catherine recovered 
sufficiently for Henry to leave her in the charge of 
Duchess Antoinette and continue his march. On 
Monday, the nth of April, he joined the Constable 
before Toul, which opened its gates the next day. 
On the 13th the King left the bulk of the army to go 
on to Metz with the Constable, and, taking the house- 
hold cavalry and a few companies of men-at-arms 
under the Duke of Guise, turned his steps towards 
Nancy. 

II. 

Eastertide, 1552, was a sad and memorable epoch 
in the annals of Lorraine. At two o'clock on Maundy 
Thursday, Henry II. entered Nancy at the head of 

^ Lettres des Seigneurs, iv. 19. 

2 A. de Ruble, " La Jeunesse de Marie Stuart," 73. 



April, 1552] THE FRENCH AT NANCY 363 

his troops, with trumpets blowing and banners flying. 
For the first time in the last hundred years, foreign 
soldiers were seen within the walls of Nancy. The 
Cardinal and the Duke of Guise rode on before, to 
inform the Duchess of the King's coming and see 
that due arrangements were made for his reception. 
Christina nerved herself for a final effort, and with 
splendid courage prepared to welcome the enemy of 
her race within her palace gates. Salutes were fired 
from the bastions as the King entered the town, and 
the young Duke rode out to meet him at the head 
of the nobles and magistrates, and escorted him to 
the church of St. Georges. Here Henry alighted, and 
the citizens held a canopy of state over him as he 
entered the ancient shrine of the Lorraine Princes, 
and, after kissing the relics of the saints on the altar 
steps, prayed by the tomb of King Rene. Then the 
young Duke led him through the stately portal, 
under his grandfather's equestrian statue, to the hall 
where his mother was waiting to receive her royal 
guest, with the Duchess of Aerschot and the young 
Princesses. Henry, the Duke of Guise, the Cardinal, 
the Marshal St. Andre, and 200 gentlemen of the 
royal household, were sumptuously lodged in the 
ducal palace, while the troops were quartered in the 
town, and French guards were stationed at the 
gates, not without a protest from Baron d'Hausson- 
viUe.i 

That evening the Duchess entertained her guests 
at a magnificent banquet in the Galerie des Cerfs, 
and the brilliantly-lighted hall, with its vaulted fret- 
work of blue and gold, frescoed walls, and rich 
tapestries, excited the admiration of all the French. 

^ Calmet, ii. 1199. 



364 THE FRENCH INVASION [Bk. x 

Frangois de Rabutin, the young Captain in Monsieur de 
Nevers's corps of archers, walked through the streets 
of the " fine, strong little town," lost in wonder at 
the splendour of the palace, the prosperity of the 
citizens, and their affection for the ducal family. 
More than all he was struck by the young Duke him- 
self, who appeared to him " the handsomest and 
cleverest boy in the world," and who evidently made 
the same impression on the King. Henry paid the 
Duchess many compliments on her son's good looks 
and intelligence, and expressed so much pleasure at 
his reception that her worst alarms were allayed. 
Late in the same evening she wrote a letter to her 
aunt, telling her of the kind expressions used by His 
Majesty, and of her hopes that all might yet be well. 
But a rude awakening was in store for her. Early 
on Good Friday morning Vaudemont appeared at 
the door of her room with consternation written on 
his face. The King had sent him to inform the 
Duchess that her son was to leave Nancy the next 
day for Bar, in charge of one of the King's captains, 
while she was deprived of all share in the government, 
which was henceforth to be administered by Vaude- 
mont as sole Regent. On receiving this unexpected 
message, Christina hastily summoned as many 
members of the Council as could be brought together, 
and with their help and her brother-in-law's support, 
drew up a protest couched in respectful and dignified 
language, reminding the King of the terms of the 
late Duke's will, and of her own rights both as 
mother and Regent. Henry's only reply to this 
appeal was to send the Duchess a copy of the 
agreement to which she was expected to conform. 
It was as follows : 



April, 1552] CHRISTINA'S DISTRESS 365 

" The Duke is to start to-morrow for Bar before 
the King leaves Nancy. His mother may accompany 
him, or go elsewhere, if she prefers. She may retain 
the administration of her son's property, but will no 
longer have any authority over the fortresses in Lor- 
raine. All subjects of the Emperor who hold any 
office in the government or in the Duke's household 
are commanded to leave Lorraine without delay. A 
French garrison of 600 men will be left in Nancy under 
Monsieur de Thou, but Monsieur de Vaudemont will 
remain Governor of the city, and take an oath to ob- 
serve the conditions laid down by the King. A French 
garrison of 300 men will also be placed in Stenay 
under the Sieur de Parroy."^ 

These hard conditions filled Christina with dismay. 
She begged the Cardinal to defend her rights, but he 
could only advise her to submit to the inevitable. 
Both he and Francis of Guise have often been blamed 
for not opposing Henry II.'s arbitrary proceedings, 
but there seems little doubt that the King originally 
intended to reduce Lorraine from the rank of an in- 
dependent State to that of a fief of the Crown, and 
that it was only the opposition of the Guises which 
saved the duchy from this fate. In her despair 
Christina made a last attempt to soften the King's 
heart. Clad in her black robes and flowing white 
veil, she entered the Galerie des Cerfs, where Henry 
and his courtiers were assembled, and, throwing 
herself on her knees at the King's feet, implored 
him, for the love of Christ who died on the cross 
that day, to have pity upon an unhappy mother. 
The sight of her distress, and the touching words 
in which she begged the King to take everything 
else, but allow her to keep her son, moved all 
hearts, and there was not a dry eye in the whole 

^ Lettres des Seigneurs, iv. loi, f. 320. 



366 THE FRENCH INVASION [Bk.x 

assembly. Even Henry was filled with compas- 
sion, and, raising the Duchess from her knees, he 
assured her that he only wished to confirm the 
friendship between the two houses. Far from in- 
tending any harm to the young Duke, he proposed 
to bring him up with his children, and to treat him 
as if he were his own son, but Lorraine was too 
near the frontiers of Germany, and too much ex- 
posed to attacks from his enemies, for him to be 
able to leave the boy there. With these consoling 
words, he took the weeping Duchess by the hand and 
led her to the doors of the gallery, but, as Anne after- 
wards told the Queen of Hungary, the King vouch- 
safed no reply to her sister's entreaty that she might 
not be deprived of her boy, and Christina's prayer 
remained unanswered.^ 

Early the next morning Vaudemont and the Coun- 
cillors renewed their oaths of allegiance to Duke 
Charles III., after which the young Prince left Nancy 
in charge of the French captain Bourdillon and an 
escort of fifty men-at-arms. The parting between 
the Duchess and her son was heartrending. The 
poor mother gave way to passionate tears, in which 
she was joined not only by Vaudemont and Anne, 
but by all the nobles and people who had assembled 
at the palace gates to see the last of their beloved 
Duke. Nothing but the sound of weeping and 
lamentation was to be heard, and Rabutin, with 
all his hatred of the House of Austria, was filled 
with compassion at the sight of the Duchess's 
grief. 

On Easter Day Christina wrote the following letter 

^ Calmet, ii. 1300; Pfister, ii. 188; Brantome, xii. no; Lettres 
des Seigneurs, iv. loi ; Ravold, iii. 780. 



April, 1552] CAPTURE OF THE YOUNG DUKE 367 

to her aunt, enclosing a copy of the articles drawn up 
by the French King : 

" Madame, 

" The extreme grief and distress which the 
King's violence has caused me prevents me from 
writing to you as fully as the occasion requires; but 
I must tell you what has happened since my last 
letter, in which I told you of the King's arrival. 
Now, in reward for the good cheer which I made him, 
he has carried off my son by force, with a violence 
which could not have been greater if I had been a 
slave. Not content with this, he has deprived me 
of the chief part of my authority, so that I can hardly 
remain here with honour and reputation, and, what 
is worse, I shall no longer have the power of doing 
Your Majesty service, which is one of my greatest 
regrets. Have pity, Madame, on a poor mother, 
whose son has been torn from her arms, as you will 
see more fully by this copy of the King's final resolu- 
tions, which he has sent me in writing. These have 
been carried out in every particular. Before he left, my 
brother, Monsieur de Vaudemont, and all the members 
of the Council, except myself, were made to take an 
oath, pledging themselves to defend the strong places 
in this land against all his enemies, and to open their 
gates to him whenever required. The same oath was 
taken by the garrison who are to guard this town, 
and I was asked to give up the keys of the postern 
gate. So that I, who was first here, and could once 
serve Your Majesty, am now deprived of all power, 
and am little better than a slave. I foresee that I 
shall soon be stripped of everything, in spite of the 
treaties and agreements formerly made between Your 
Majesties and this State. This ill-treatment and the 
evident wish shown by the French that I should 
leave this house have made me decide to retire to 
Blamont, where I will await Your Majesty's advice 
as to my future action. ... I must warn Your 
Majesty, with regard to Stenay, that the new Captain, 
Sieur du Parroy, although of Lorraine birth, belongs 
to the King's household, and is devoted to French 
interests, as is also the second in command. Madame, 



368 THE FRENCH INVASION [Bk.x 

I have written all this to the Emperor, but he is so 
far away and in so remote a place that I felt I must 
also tell Your Majesty what had happened here, 
begging her humbly to let me know her good pleasure. 
" Your humble and obedient niece, 

" Chrestienne. 

" Nancy, April 17, 1552."^ 

The letter which Anne addressed to the Queen the 
next day is still more graphic in the details it supplies : 

" I cannot help writing to inform you, Madame, of 
the utter desolation and misery to which my poor 
sister is reduced owing to the great rudeness and 
cruelty with which she was treated by the King of 
France on Good Friday. He came here under pre- 
tence of good faith and true friendship, as he had 
lately given us to understand. On his arrival he 
was received with all possible honour and entertained 
in the most hospitable manner. On Good Friday 
he told Madame that, in order to satisfy the conditions 
of his league with the Germans, he must secure all 
the fortified posts in Lorraine, as well as the Duke's 
person, and with this end must take him to Bar. In 
order to prevent this, Madame, Monsieur de Vaudemont 
and I, with all the members of the Council, drew up 
a remonstrance couched in the most humble terms, 
to which he onty replied by sending us a written copy 
of his resolutions. Upon this my sister went to find 
him in the Grande Galerie, and begged him humbly, 
even going as far as to fall on her knees to implore 
him, for the love of God, not to take her son away 
from her. He made no reply, and, to make an end 
of the story, Madame, on Easter Eve they took the 
boy, escorted by a band of armed men, in charge of 
the Sieur de Bourdillon and the Marechal de St. 
Andre, who did not leave his side until he had seen 
him well out of the town. It was indeed a piteous 
thing to see his poor mother, Monsieur de Vaudemont, 
and all the nobles and this poor people, in tears 
and lamentation at his departure. Madame, Your 
Majesty can imagine the terrible grief of my poor 

^ Lettres des Seigneurs, iv. loi, f. 320. 



April, 1552] THE DUKE AT JOINVILLE 369 

sister at this outrage, and will understand that her 
sorrow at losing her son is still so great that I have 
been obliged to abandon my intention of returning 
home, and feel that I cannot leave her. The King 
allows her to keep the charge of her daughters and 
the administration of her children's estates, except- 
ing in the case of the fortified towns, which remain in 
the hands of Monsieur de Vaudemont. . . . And since, 
Madame, I am still as ever very anxious to do Your 
Majesty service, I beg you to lay your commands 
upon me, and they will be obeyed by one who is the 
most affectionate servant that Your Majesty will ever 
have. 

" Anne de Lorraine. 

" From Nancy, the day after Easter, 
April 18. "1 

In a postscript Anne further informed Mary that 
her sister had just received a letter from the King, 
telling her that, hearing an attempt would be made 
to carry off the young Duke, he had ordered Bour- 
dillon to take him to join the Queen at Joinville. 
Henry's letter was written from Pont-a-Mousson, 
where he spent Easter Day, after sleeping at the 
Duke's country-house at Conde on Saturday : 

" My Sister, 

" After leaving you I received warnings from 
several quarters that the Burgundians were going to 
make an attempt to surprise Bar and carry off my 
cousin, the Duke of Lorraine; and as I am anxious to 
prevent this, I ordered Monsieur de Bourdillon to take 
him straight to Joinville, which is sufficiently remote 
to escape this danger, and where both you and he would 
be quite at home in his own family. And you will 
find good company there and be given the best of 
cheer, just as if I were there myself. I hope, my 
sister, that this may be agreeable to you, and that 
you will believe that my anxiety for his person is 

^ Lettres des Seigneurs, iv. loi, f. 330 (see Appendix). 



370 THE FRENCH INVASION [Bk.x 

the reason why I wish to avoid any risk of injury, 
which would be a cause of grave displeasure to those 
who love him, as you and I do. Farewell, my sister, 
and may God have you in His holy keeping. 

" Your good brother, 

" Henry. 
" Written at Pont-a-Mousson, 
April 17, 1552."! 

The tone of the letter was kind. Henry had evi- 
dently been touched by Christina's distress, and tried 
to soften the blow. Fortunately, the little Duke 
himself was too young to realize the meaning of these 
startling events. The ride to Joinville and the 
welcome which he received from the kind old Duchess 
amused him, but at bedtime he missed the familiar 
faces, and asked for his mother and tutor. Monsieur 
de Montbardon. When he was told that they had 
stayed at Nancy, the poor child burst into incontrol- 
lable sobs, and refused to be comforted .^ 

III. 

The invasion of Lorraine and the harsh treatment 
which the Duchess suffered at the French King's 
hands were keenly resented by her imperial relatives. 
Mary wrote indignantly to Charles at Innsbruck, com- 
plaining justly of Henry's violation of the neutrality 
of Lorraine and of the young Duke's^ capture. 
To Christina herself she expressed her anger at the 
King's wicked act, at the same time advising her to 
bow to the storm and retire to Blamont for the pre- 
sent. This the Duchess did three days after her son's 
departure, taking the two Princesses as well as her 

1 Lettres des Seigneurs, iv. loi, f. 319. 

2 Bulletins de la Commission d'Histoire, serie 2, xii. 213. 

3 Bucholtz, ix. 539. 



May, 1552] CHRISTINA AT DENGEUVRE 371 

faithful sister-in-law. Anne's pen was never idle, and 
on the following Sunday — that of P agues- fleuries — 
she sent the Queen a list of all the Princes who were 
members of the League. But they had not been many 
days at Blamont, when their peace was disturbed by 
the arrival of the French King and the Constable, 
who, after taking possession of Metz, marched through 
the Vosges on their way to Strasburg, and took up 
their quarters in the castle. The Duchesses left 
hurriedly to avoid another meeting with the King, 
and moved to Denoeuvre, where they remained during 
the next three months. But the strain of recent 
events had been too much for Christina's strength; 
she became seriously ill, and her condition was a 
grave cause of anxiety to Anne and her ladies. 

Count Stroppiana, who heard the details of the 
French invasion from Belloni's own lips at Innsbruck, 
wrote the following account of the Duchess's wrongs 
to his master, the Duke of Savoy : 

" The King of France, we hear, has occupied Lor- 
raine, and sent the young Duke to Chalons, guarded 
by 100 men-at-arms, contrary to the promises which 
he made to the Duchess his mother. She threw her- 
self at his feet, imploring him not to rob her of her 
son, her only joy and consolation, without whom she 
could not bear to live, with many other words which 
would have moved the hardest heart to pity. The 
King would not listen, and repulsed her with many 
rough words, forbidding any of the Emperor's sub- 
jects to remain in her service on pain of death. He 
has deprived her of the Regency, and relegated her to 
a remote country place, where she does nothing but 
weep and lament, and will certainly die before long, 
if her great sorrow is not comforted, as she has been 
ill for some time past. The poor little Duke is said 
to be ill, too. When he reached the first stage of his 
journey, he asked for his mother and tutor, and, when 



372 THE FRENCH INVASION [Bk. x 

he did not see them, wept so bitterly that it was 
impossible to comfort him."^ 

The boy's tears were soon dried, and he recovered 
his spirits in the charge of the Duke of Longueville's 
old tutor, Jean de la Brousse, and the companionship 
of the royal children. His mother remained long 
inconsolable for his loss, but the affection of her son's 
subjects was her best solace. So earnest were their 
entreaties that she should remain among them that 
she declined her aunt's urgent invitation to take 
refuge in Flanders, and decided to stay at Denceuvre. 
On the 31st of May she wrote as follows to inform 
the Emperor of her intention : 

" MONSEIGNEUR, 

" At the prayer of my brother Monsieur de 
Vaudemont, and my sister the Duchess of Aerschot, 
and the earnest desire of my good people, I have been 
bold enough to remain here, although Your Majesty 
had sent me orders to join the Queens. I trust you 
will not take this in bad part, but will understand 
that I have only done this at the urgent prayer of 
my brother and sister, and not out of disrespect to 
your command, since my sole desire is to obey you 
all my life, and I beg you to believe this and re- 
member my son and his poor country. 

" Your humble niece and servant, 

" Chrestienne. 

" From Denceuvre, May 31, 1552. "^ 

This letter found the Emperor at the lowest depth 
of his fortunes. On the 19th of May he was carried 
in his litter by torchlight over the Brenner in torrents 
of driving rain, and hardly paused till he arrived at 
Villach in Carinthia. A few hours after he left Inns- 

1 Bulletins, etc., serie 2, xii. 213. 

2 Lettres des Seigneurs, iv. 102, f. 127 (see Appendix) ; 
Lanz, iii. 208. 



July, 1552] CHklSTlNA BANISHED 373 

bruck, Maurice and his troopers entered the town, 
plundered the Emperor's quarters, and robbed the 
baggage which had been forgotten in his hasty de- 
parture. The victor might easily have captured the 
fugitive Emperor, but, as Maurice said himself, he had 
no cage for so fine a bird . 

The tide, however, was already turning. Strasburg 
closed her gates against the French invaders, and 
early in May an Imperial army attacked Champagne 
and sent Queen Catherine flying in terror from 
Reims. Alarmed by these reports, Henry beat a 
hasty retreat, and contented himself with the empty 
boast that he had watered his horses in the Rhine. 
The seat of the war was now transferred to Luxem- 
bourg, and Lorraine was once more harassed by the 
outposts of the two contending armies. From their 
safe retreat at Denoeuvre, Christina and Anne 
watched the course of the campaign anxiously, and 
kept up a constant correspondence with Mary of 
Hungary. The bold measure of placing an Imperialist 
garrison in Nancy was now proposed by the Duchess, 
and gladly accepted by her uncle, who realized the 
advantages of the scheme, and wrote that Lorraine 
might well be occupied, on the ground of the Duke's 
detention, and would be restored to him as soon as 
he was released.^ Early in July, Christina's trusted 
servant, Bassompierre, the Bailiff of the Vosges, 
arrived at Denoeuvre with a message from Vaudemont, 
promising to admit the Imperialist force within the 
gates of Nancy on condition that the occupation was 
only temporary. The Duchess promptly sent a 
lackey to Flanders with a cipher letter to inform the 
Queen of his consent. But, as ill-luck would have it, 

^ Bucholtz, ix. 543; Bulletins, 2, xii. 191. 

25 



374 THE FRENCH INVASION [Bk. x 

the servant fell into the hands of the French, who 
were besieging Luxembourg, and he was brought 
before the King and forced to confess the object of 
his errand. Henry was furious at discovering the 
plot, and sent a gentleman of his household. Monsieur 
de Rostain, to Denoeuvre, with a letter to the Duchess, 
saying that he feared her attachment to the Emperor 
was greater than her maternal love, and desired her 
to leave Lorraine without delay. Christina sent one of 
her gentlemen. Monsieur de Doulans, back with Rostain 
to protest against this order, saying that, after robbing 
her of her son and depriving her of the Regency, the 
King would surely not be so cruel as to drive her out 
of her own dower-house, especially as Denoeuvre was 
a fief of the Empire. But these passionate appeals 
availed her little. A week later Henry sent another 
gentleman. Monsieur de Fontaine, to order the Duchess 
to leave Denoeuvre immediately, if she did not wish to 
feel the full weight of his displeasure. This time the 
messenger had orders not to return to the King's 
presence until he had seen the Duchess across the 
frontier. So with a heavy heart the two Princesses 
left the land of Lorraine, where they were both so 
fondly beloved, and took refuge in Alsace. Belloni, 
who sent the Queen an account of his mistress's 
latest troubles in his clear Italian handwriting, was 
desired to tell her aunt that the Duchess had many 
more things of importance to say, but must wait for a 
more convenient season. Only one thing she must add, 
and this was that through all Monsieur de Vaudemont 
had remained perfectly true and loyal to her, although 
he was compelled by his office to conform outwardly 
to the French King's tyranny.^ 

^ Lettres des Seigneurs, vii. 603. 



Aug., 1552] BELLONI'S END, 375 

On receiving this bad news, Mary sent to beg her 
niece to come to Flanders without delay, promising the 
Duchess a home for herself and her little daughters. 
Unfortunately, as Christina found, this was no easy 
task. Not only was the whole countryside in peril 
of daily attacks from the French, but the Marquis 
Albert had descended like a whirlwind from the 
Suabian hills, and was spreading terror and destruc- 
tion along the banks of the Rhine. The next letter 
which she addressed to her aunt from the imperial 
city of Schlettstadt, where she had sought refuge, 
gives vent to these alarms : 

" Madame, 

" I received the kind and loving letter which 
Your Majesty was so good as to send me on the 6th 
of August. It came at the right moment, for I can 
assure you that I was sorely troubled, but Your 
Majesty's kindness in saying that I shall be welcome 
has done me so much good that I feel I do not know 
how to thank you enough, and am only sorry I cannot 
set out at once. For the roads are very dangerous, 
above all for children. . . . Your Majesty will under- 
stand how distressed I shall be until I can find some 
way of coming to you, and certainly one year will 
seem to me a hundred, until I am with Your Majesty 
once more."-"^ 

This grateful letter was written from Schlettstadt 
on the 22nd of August, and sent to Brussels by Nic- 
colo Belloni, the only messenger whom Christina felt 
that she could trust. But fresh trouble awaited her 
in this direction. Belloni reached Flanders safely, 
and came back to Lorraine with letters to the Count 
and Countess of Vaudemont, but disappeared in 
some mysterious manner two days after he reached 

^ Lettres des Seigneurs, iv. 103, f. 348. 



376 THE FRENCH INVASION [Bk. x 

Nancy. It seems doubtful whether he died of the 
plague, as Massimo del Pero wrote to his friend 
Innocenzo Gadio, or whether he fell into some am- 
bush and was slain by the enemy's hand. The loss 
was a great one to the Duchess, whom he had served 
so faithfully and well for the past sixteen years, and 
the honest Milanese was lamented by all his col- 
leagues. Innocenzo Gadio, sent the sad news to the 
Princess of Macedonia's daughter, Dejanira, the wife of 
Count Gaspare Trivulzio, who had formerly received 
Christina in his castle at Codogno. The Countess ex- 
pressed her sympathy with her dearest Messer Inno- 
cenzo in the warmest terms. 

" I am sure," she wrote, " that the death of so 
beloved a friend will cause my mother the greatest 
sorrow. When you return to Lorraine," she adds, 
" please kiss Her Excellency's hands for me, and tell 
her that the sufferings which she has undergone in 
those parts grieve me to the bottom of my soul ; and 
tell her too that we, her servants in this country, 
shall always be ready to risk our lives and all that 
we have in her service." 

" Dejanira, Contessa Trivulzio. 

" From Codogno, September 29, 1552."^ 

There were still faithful hearts in this far-off land 
who never forgot the Duchess whom they had known 
in early youth, and who followed her fortunes with 
tender sympathy and affection. 

But now help came to the sorely-tried Princess 
from an unexpected quarter. The Marquis Albert 
had haughtily declined to take any part in the con- 
ference that was being held at Passau between King 
Ferdinand and Maurice of Saxony, or to be included 
in the treaty which was signed between the Emperor 

^ Manuscript 18, Biblioteca Cavagna Sangiuliani, Zelada (see 
Appendix) . 



Aug., 1552] AT HOH-KONIGSBERG 377 

and the Elector on the 1 5th of August. Instead of 
laying down his arms, he chose to continue his reck- 
less course, and marched through the Rhineland 
plundering towns and burning villages, " making 
war," wrote an eyewitness, " as if he were the devil 
himself."^ But when he reached Treves he heard of 
the Duchess's expulsion from Lorraine and her dis- 
tressed condition, and, with a touch of the old chivalry 
that made him dear to women, he promptly sent to 
offer her shelter in his castle of Hoh-Konigsberg, the 
strongest and finest citadel in the Vosges. Christina 
accepted the offer gratefully, and during the next 
few weeks the red sandstone fortress which still 
crowns the heights above Schlettstadt became her 
abode. She was there still when the Emperor made 
his way from Augsburg to the banks of the Rhine, 
at the head of a formidable army. 

On the 7th of September he entered Strasburg ; on 
the 15th he crossed the river and encamped at 
Landau. A week before he sent one of his bravest 
Burgundian captains, Ferry de Carondelet, to visit 
her at Hoh-Konigsberg and invite her to visit him 
in the camp,^ Christina obeyed the summons joy- 
fully, and a few days after the Emperor reached Lan- 
dau she and Anne of Aerschot made their way by 
the Rhine to the imperial camp. The Prince of Pied- 
mont rode out to meet them, and Anne's kinsfolk, 
Egmont and D'Arenberg joined with Emanuel 
Philibert and Ferrante Gonzaga in welcoming the 
distressed ladies and condoling with them on the 
terrors and hardships which they had undergone. 
Only one thing grieved Christina. The Emperor firmly 
refused to admit her trusted Councillor, Bassompierre, 

^ Lettresdes Seigneurs, iv. 51 8 (see Appendix). ^ Ibid.,iv. 103. 



378 THE FRENCH INVASION [Bk. x 

into his presence, being convinced that he had be- 
trayed his mistress and played into the French King's 
hands. Nothing that she could say altered his 
opinion in this respect, and she thought it wiser to 
send the Bailiff to Nancy, where he was able to watch 
over her interests and send reports to the Queen of 
Hungary.^ 

Charles was suffering from gout and fever, and 
Christina was shocked to see his altered appearance. 
The fatigues and anxieties of the last few months had 
left their mark upon him. His face was pale and 
worn, his hands thin and bloodless, and he spoke 
with difficulty owing to the soreness of his mouth 
and the leaf which he kept between his lips to relieve 
their dryness. Only his eyes kept the old fire, and 
no one could divine the thoughts which lay hidden 
under the mask-like face. As Morosyne wrote after 
an interview which he had with the Emperor about 
this time: " He maketh me think of Solomon's say- 
ing: ' Heaven is high, the earth is deep, and a king's 
heart is unsearchable.' "^ But he was full of kind- 
ness for Christina, telling her that she and her children 
would always find a home at Brussels. Since, however, 
her cousin of Guise had entrenched himself in Metz 
and the country round was swarming with soldiery, he 
advised her to remain at Heidelberg for the present. 

The Duchess obeyed this advice and retired to her 
brother-in-law's Court. The Palatine was growing 
old, his beard had turned white and his strength 
began to fail, but his influence was as great as ever 
in Germany. Morosyne, who met him at Spires, pro- 

^ Bulletins de la Commission d'Histoire, serie 2, xii. 232; 
Lettres des Seigneurs, iv. 518. 
2 "Hardwicke Papers," i. 55. 



Nov., 1552] CHARLES. V. AND ALBERT 379 

nounced him to be the wisest and best of all the 
Electors, and was touched by the affection with which 
he spoke of the late King Henry VHL, declaring that 
his shirt never lay so near his skin as King Edward's 
noble father lay near his heart. The Ambassador's 
secretary, Roger Ascham, made friends with Hubert, 
who sent him long dissertations on the pronuncia- 
tion of Greek, and invited him to Heidelberg. Now 
Frederic and his wife welcomed the Duchess and her 
children with their wonted hospitality, and insisted 
on keeping them until the end of the year ; but Chris- 
tina's heart was with her poor subjects, who suffered 
severely from the ravages of the war. From Nancy, 
Bassompierre sent word that the Marquis Albert had 
suddenly deserted his French allies, and had captured 
Aumale and carried him in triumph to the imperial 
camp before Metz.^ 

Here, on the 20th of November, Charles came face 
to face with the man who had wronged him so deeply. 
" God knows what I feel," he wrote to Mary, " at 
having to make friends with the Marquis Albert, but 
necessity knows no law."^ At least, he accepted the 
situation with a good grace. Morosyne was present 
when the Emperor came riding into the camp on a 
great white horse of Naples breed, and, seeing Albert, 
took his hand with a gracious smile, and shook it 
warmly twice or thrice. 

" The Marquis fixed his eyes fast on the Emperor's 
countenance, as one that meant to see what thoughts 
his looks betrayed. When he saw that all was well, 
or at least could not see but all seemed well, he spake 
a few words, which His Majesty seemed to take in 
very good part." 

^ Calendar of State Papers, Foreign, Edward VI., 230, 
2 I^anz, iii. 513. 



38o THE FRENCH INVASION [Bk.x 

Calling a page to his side, he took a red scarf, the 
Imperialist badge, from his hands, and gave it to the 
Marquis. Albert received it with deep reverence, 
saying that he had not fared badly when he wore 
these colours before, and trusted the Emperor's gift 
would bring him the same good fortune as of old.^ 

The return of the wanderer saved Charles from 
utter ruin. His affairs were still going badly. Vieille- 
ville, the French Governor of Verdun, seized the boats 
laden with provisions for the imperial camp, which 
Christina had sent down the Rhine, and laid violent 
hands on six waggons of choice fruits, wines, and 
cakes, which were despatched from Nancy for her 
uncle's table. Worse than this, he contrived to 
enter Pont-a-Mousson, which Fabrizio Colonna held, 
disguised as a messenger from the Duchess, and 
obtained possession of this important place by 
stratagem .2 The valour of Guise and the strong 
fortifications of Metz were proof against the reckless 
courage of Albert and the might of the imperial 
army. The heavy rains and biting cold of an 
early winter increased the sufferings of the troops, 
and, after losing half his army by famine and dysen- 
tery, Charles was compelled to raise the siege at the 
New Year. " Fortune is a woman," he remarked to 
one of his captains; " she abandons the old, and keeps 
her smiles for young men."^ In this forced retreat 
the Marquis performed prodigies of valour, and suc- 
ceeded in bringing his guns safely over roads rendered 
impassable by a sudden thaw. The bulk of the army 
was dismissed, only the veteran Spanish and German 

^ Voigt, ii. 9, lo; P. F. Tytler, " England under Edward VI.,'' 
144. 

2 Yieilleville, 161, 176. ^ Calmet, ii. 338. 



Feb., 1553] THE EMPEROR TO RETURN 381 

forces being quartered in Artois and Luxembourg, 
and Charles himself set out for Brussels. His faihng 
strength compelled him to halt on the way, and 
Morosyne gave it as his opinion that the Emperor 
would never reach the end of his journey alive. But 
his spirit was indomitable as ever, and on Sunday, 
the 6th of February, he entered Brussels in an open 
litter, amid scenes of the wildest enthusiasm. 

" To-day," wrote the Ambassador of Savoy, " I 
have witnessed the safe arrival of the Emperor. He 
was received with the greatest transports of joy and 
delight by the whole people, who feared that he was 
dead and that they would never see him again." 

And Charles himself wrote to Ferdinand that, now 
he was once more in his native land and in the com- 
pany of his beloved sisters, he would soon recover 
his health.^ 

^ Bulletins, etc., serie 2, xii. 238; State Papers, Edward VI., 
Foreign, 236, 243; Lanz, iii. 542. 



BOOK XI 

CHRISTINA AT BRUSSELS 
1553— 1559 

I. 

Christina was at Brussels on the memorable day 
when the Emperor set foot once more on his native 
soil. She heard the shouts of joy which rent the 
air, and joined with the Queens in the welcome which 
greeted him on the threshold of his palace. Early 
in January she had left Heidelberg and travelled 
safely down the Rhine and through the friendly states 
of her Cleves cousins to Brussels. Here she occu- 
pied the suite of rooms where she had lived 
before her second marriage, and to a large extent 
resumed her former habits. She spent much of her 
time with her aunts and the Duchess of Aerschot, 
and renewed her old friendship with Countess d'Aren- 
berg and other ladies of the Court. The deepest 
sympathy was felt for her by all classes, and when 
Charles addressed the States-General on the 13th of 
February, and alluded to the treachery of the French 
in carrying off the young Duke of Lorraine and driving 
his mother out of the realm, his words provoked an 
outburst of tumultuous indignation.^ 
Through her brother-in-law Vaudemont she still 

^ Henne, x. 13. 
382 



Jan., 1553] CHRISTINA'S SUITORS 383 

maintained close relations with Lorraine, while the 
Cardinal kept her informed of all that concerned her 
son, and the boy's own letters satisfied her that he was 
well and happy at the French Court. But although 
Charles shared all the advantages enjoyed by the 
King's children, and soon became a general favourite 
in the royal family, it was bitter for the Duchess to 
feel that her only son was growing up, in a foreign 
land, among the hereditary foes of her race. The 
restoration of peace between Charles and Henry 
was the only means by which she could hope to 
recover her lost child, and this became the goal of 
all her efforts during the six years that she spent in 
exile. 

The Widow of Milan had been courted by Kings and 
Princes, and hardly was Christina settled at Brussels 
before she was assailed by fresh offers of marriage. 
Henry, King of Navarre, whose accomplished wife 
had died soon after her daughter's marriage, asked 
the Emperor for his niece's hand, but his proposals 
met with small favour. Far more serious was the 
courtship of Albert of Brandenburg, who felt this to 
be a favourable moment for renewing his old suit. 
'' No one," as Thomas Hoby wrote, " had done the 
Emperor worthier or more faithful service " in the 
siege of Metz, and was better entitled to reward. His 
claims were strongly supported by the Palatine, who 
invited the Marquis to Heidelberg to confer with the 
other German Princes on the best means of recovering 
Metz. Albert himself not only aspired to the 
Duchess's hand, but to the Duke of Alva's post of 
Commander-in-Chief, and boasted that once Christina 
was his bride he would easily recover her father's 
kingdoms. 



384 CHRISTINA AT BRUSSELS [Bk. XI 

" It is supposed," wrote Morosyne from Brussels 
on the 20th of February, " that the Marquis will 
marry the Duchess of Lorraine and have Alva's place. 
The Palsgrave would fain it were so, in order that, if 
the Marquis married his wife's sister, he might help 
him to recover Denmark; for besides that a slender 
title is apt to set such a one to work, he should, by 
being married to the Emperor's niece, and afterwards 
coming, when his uncle died, to the duchy of Prussia, 
be able easily to trouble Denmark. The Marquis 
doth much desire it, for that the Duke of Holstein has 
been and is a great suitor to the Duchess, who was 
once so nigh marrying the Marquis Albert's sister that 
the contracts were drawn up and put into writing, but 
broke it off upon sight of the Duchess of Lorraine. 
The Palsgrave would rather any did marry with her 
than the Duke of Holstein, for that his brother. King 
Christian, keeps his wife's father in prison. And the 
Emperor, it is held certain, will help it, in order that 
he may by this means trouble Denmark, which he has 
never had leisure to trouble himself."^ 

Whatever her relatives may have thought of the 
Marquis's suit, Christina herself never considered it 
seriously, and told the Palatine plainly that such a 
marriage was out of the question. The Marquis 
vented his anger on the Emperor, and left Heidelberg 
in high displeasure, without taking leave of the Pala- 
tine or anyone else. Hot words passed between him 
and Maurice, and these two Princes, who had once been 
the closest friends, were henceforth bitter enemies. 
Albert returned to his life of raids and plunder, 
and when, soon afterwards, he was placed under 
the ban of the Empire, Maurice led an army against 
him. A fiercely-contested battle was fought on the 
9th of July at Sievershausen, in which Albert was 
completely routed and Maurice lost his life. The 

^ Calendar of the Manuscripts of the Marquis of SaHsbury, 
i. no; Lodge, " Illustrations," i. 183. 



June, 1553] PHILIP HOBY'S AUDIENCE 385 

Marquis was deprived of fortune and patrimony, his 
ancestral home of Plassenburg was burnt to the 
ground, and after leading a roving life for some years, 
and wandering from one Court to another, he died in 
the house of his brother-in-law, the Margrave of 
Baden, on the 8th of January, 1557. So in exile and 
poverty this brave and brilliant adventurer ended his 
career, before he had completed his thirty-fifth year.^ 
While the Palatine was holding vain conferences at 
Heidelberg, and the Marquis and Duke Adolf were 
still quarrelHng for the Duchess's hand, she herself was 
endeavouring to open negotiations with the French 
King through Bassompierre and Vaudemont. But 
nothing would induce Henry to give up Metz, and in 
April war was renewed with fresh vigour. The young 
Prince of Piedmont, who succeeded the unpopular 
Alva in command of the imperial army, won a series 
of victories, and razed the forts of Therouenne and 
Hesdin to the ground. But the Emperor was too ill 
to take part in the campaign or even to give audiences. 
Sir Philip Hoby, who now succeeded Morosyne, 
actually believed him to be dead, until De Courrieres 
came to dine with his English friends, and assured 
them, on his honour as a gentleman, that he had seen 
the Emperor alive that morning .^ Upon this Sir 
Philip's brother Thomas, who had just arrived from 
Paris, where he had been spending the winter in 
translating Castiglione's " Cortegiano," was sent to 
see his old Augsburg friend, the Bishop of Arras, and 
beg for an audience. At length, on the 8th of June, 
the Englishmen were admitted into the privy 
chamber, and found the Emperor sitting up, with his 

^ Voigt, ii. 207. 

2 Calendar of State Papers, Edward VI., Foreign, 282. 



386 CHRISTINA AT BRUSSELS [Bk. XI 

feet on a stool, " very pale, weak, and lean, but nothing 
so ill as they had believed." His eye was lively, his 
speech sensible, and his manner very friendly and 
agreeable. But, although he expressed an earnest 
wish for peace, he declared that the French demands 
made this quite impossible. -"^ 

A month later an unexpected event produced a 
change in the Emperor's fortunes. King Edward VI. 
died, and, after a vain attempt on Northumberland's 
part to set Lady Jane Grey on the throne, Catherine 
of Aragon's daughter Mary succeeded peaceably to 
the throne. Her accession was hailed with joy at the 
Imperial Court, and on the Feast of St. Bartholomew 
the Regent celebrated the event by giving a banquet, 
to which the English Ambassadors were invited. " It 
was such a dinner," writes Hoby, " as we had seldom 
seen in all our lives, and greater good cheer or enter- 
tainment than Her Grace gave us could not be de- 
vised." Mary was in high spirits that evening. She 
toasted the Ambassadors, conversed with them after 
dinner for more than an hour, and told Morosyne 
laughingly that his French could not be worse than 
her Italian. Sir Philip sat next to the Duchess of 
Lorraine, and reminded her of the memorable morn- 
ing, fifteen years before, when he brought the German 
Court painter to take her portrait.^ Since then much 
had happened. King Henry himself, the great painter 
Holbein, Rene of Orange, and Francis of Lorraine, 
were all gone, and she had lost home and state and 
had seen her only son snatched from her arms. Yet 
she was still beautiful and fascinating, and counted 

1 " Travail and Life of Sir T. Hoby," 85; Calendar of State 
Papers, Edward VI., Foreign, 288. 

2 Calendar of State Papers, Mary, Foreign, 8; T. Hoby, 102. 



Sept., 1553] ACCESSION OF MARY 387 

almost as many suitors as of old. Adolf of Holstein 
wooed her with a constancy which no coldness could 
repel, and if the wild Marquis had been forced to 
renounce all hope of winning her hand, another hero, 
the young Prince of Piedmont, was ready to lay his 
laurels at her feet. But Christina remained the same, 
calm and unmoved, and was an interested and amused 
spectator of the matrimonial plans which now formed 
the all-absorbing topic in the family conclave. 

Charles quickly realized the importance of securing 
the new Queen's hand for his son. As soon as he 
heard of Edward's death, he sent orders to his Am- 
bassador at Lisbon to delay drawing up the marriage 
contract which had been agreed upon between Philip 
and Eleanor's daughter, Maria of Portugal, and wrote 
to his son, setting forth the superior advantages of 
the English alliance. Philip replied dutifully that, as 
his cousin the Queen was twelve years older than 
himself, his father would be a more suitable husband, 
but added that he was ready to obey the Emperor's 
will in all respects.^ 

On the 20th of September Charles wrote from 
Valenciennes, where he was directing military opera- 
tions from his litter, to the English Queen. After 
explaining that he was too old and infirm to think of 
marriage, and had solemnly vowed after the Empress's 
death never to take a second wife, he offered her the 
dearest thing he had in life — his own son. He then 
proceeded to point out the great advantages of the 
proposed union, while at the same time he advised 
Mary to observe the utmost caution, being " well 
aware of the hatred with which the English, more than 
any other nation, regard foreigners." Mary's own 
^ Granvelle, iv. 113, iig. 



388 CHRISTINA AT BRUSSELS [Bk. xi 

mind was soon made up. In spite of protests from 
her subjects and remonstrances from the French 
King, she was determined to marry her cousin. On 
the 30th of October she sent for the Imperial Envoy, 
Renard, and, kneeling down before the Blessed Sacra- 
ment in her chapel, she said the Veni Creator, and 
took a solemn vow to wed the Prince of Spain. ^ 

The most friendly letters were now exchanged 
between the two Courts. The holy chrism for Mary's 
coronation was sent from Brussels, with venison and 
wild-boar for her table. Charles gave his future 
daughter magnificent tapestries and jewels, and Mary 
of Hungary sent the Queen a yet more precious gift, 
Titian's portrait of Philip, telling her that, if she stands 
at some distance from the canvas, it will give her a good 
idea of the Prince, only that he is older and more 
bearded than he was when the artist painted it three 
years ago. The Regent took care to add that she could 
only lend the Queen the picture on condition that it 
should be returned " when the living man joined her." 
In reply, Mary begged her good aunt to pay her a 
visit; but the Regent excused herself, owing to the 
Emperor's ill-health, and promised to come and see 
her later on, it might be in the Prince's company. 
The same cordial invitation was extended to the 
Duchess of Lorraine, who sent her new maitre d' hotel, 
Baron De Silliers, to London in April, 1554, to con- 
gratulate the Queen on her marriage. Mary made 
Christina a present of a fine diamond, which De 
Courrieres was desired to give her, and when, on the 
20th of July, Philip landed at Southampton, and the 
wedding was celebrated in Winchester Cathedral, the 
happy spouse sent costly jewels to the Emperor and 

^ Mignet, " Retraite de Charles V.," 69, 70. 



Jan., 1554] CARDINAL POLE AT, BRUSSELS 389 

the two Queens, and a beautiful emerald to her dear 
cousin the Duchess. 

In January Cardinal Pole, the Papal Legate, came 
to the monastery of Diligam, near Brussels, with pro- 
posals of peace from the Pope, on his way to con- 
gratulate Queen Mary on her accession, and help 
to restore Catholic rites in the kingdom. Pole was 
known to be averse to the Spanish marriage, and 
Charles had put every obstacle in the way of his 
journey to England. On his arrival he gave him a 
very cold reception, and the Cardinal complained to 
the Pope that the Emperor and Arras could not have 
used greater violence, unless they had taken a stick 
to drive him back.^ The Regent and the Duchess of 
Lorraine, however, were much more friendly when he 
dined with them the next day, after attending Mass 
in the royal chapel. Mary told him that no one 
wished for peace more earnestly than herself, seeing 
how terribly her poor people of the Netherlands had 
suffered from the war, and Christina spoke to him of 
her son with tears in her eyes. When the Cardinal 
went on to Fontainebleau, he saw the young Duke, 
and was able to give him his mother's messages. But 
he found Henry II. still less amenable than Charles, 
and returned to Brussels convinced that his mission 
was a failure as far as the hope of peace was con- 
cerned. 

Before the end of April the French King invaded 
Hainault, at the head of a large army, and took the 
strong citadel of Marienburg. Namur was only saved 
by the promptitude of Charles, who once more took 
the field, although he could no longer mount a horse, 
and showed all his old courage in this his last cam- 

^ M. Haile, " Life of Reginald Pole," 432. 

26 



390 CHRISTINA AT BRUSSELS [Bk. xi 

paign. After an indecisive battle at Renty, the 
French retired with heavy loss, spreading famine and 
desolation in their track. One act of vandalism for 
which Henry was condemned, even by his own cap- 
tains, was the destruction of Mary of Hungary's 
beautiful palace of Binche, with its famous gardens 
and treasures of art. The Queen received the news 
with equanimity, saying that she was proud of being 
the object of the French King's vindictiveness, and 
glad the world should know that she was the Em- 
peror's devoted servant. 

" As for the damage which has been done," she 
wrote to Arras, " I do not care a straw. I am not 
the woman to grieve over the loss of things transitory, 
which we are meant to enjoy as long as we have them, 
and do without when they are gone. That, upon my 
word, is all the regret I feel."^ 

In the autumn Christina made another fruitless 
attempt to open negotiations through Vaudemont, 
who after the death of his first wife, Margaret of 
Egmont, was induced by the Cardinal of Lorraine to 
marry the Duke of Nemours 's daughter. This Prince 
came to Brussels in November to inform the Emperor 
and the Duchess of his marriage, and, as might be 
expected, met with a very cold reception at Court. 
But, in spite of his French alliance, he remained scru- 
pulously loyal to Christina and her son, and complained 
to his sister Anne that at Brussels he was reproached 
for his French sympathies, while in Paris he was 
looked on with suspicion as an Imperialist. So hard 
was it to be an honest man in those troublous times .^ 

^ Henne, x. 132 ; F. Juste, "Marie de Hongrie," 204. 

2 Granvelle, iv, 307 ; Venetian Transcript, Record 0£6ce, 99, 



Sept., 1554] A GAY COURT 39 1 



II. 

While the war dragged on its weary course, and 
Mary and Christina vainly tried to bring it to an 
end, on the other side of the Channel the new King 
of England and his spouse were holding high festival. 
They came to London in September, and remained 
there through the winter, trying to win the love of 
their subjects by a series of popular displays and 
festivities. Tournaments were held at Whitehall, 
hunting-parties were given at Windsor and Hampton 
Court, and a succession of distinguished guests trav- 
elled from Flanders to pay homage to the royal pair. 
Philip's favourite, Ruy Gomez, and the Duke and 
Duchess of Alva, arrived from Spain, Ferrante 
Gonzaga, the Prince of Orange, and the Grand Equerry 
Boussu, came over from Antwerp during the 
autumn.^ On the 20th of November Cardinal Pole 
at length crossed the Channel ; four days later he 
was received at Whitehall by the King and Queen 
in person, and crossed the river in the royal barge, to 
take possession of his own house at Lambeth. He 
was soon followed by Emanuel Philibert, who had 
lately succeeded to the barren title of Duke of Savoy 
on his father's death, and had been made a Knight 
of the Garter. Earlier in the summer he had paid 
a brief visit to London, where his white, red, and 
green banners of Savoy made a fine show in the 
Abbey on St. Peter's Day; but as his military duties 
rendered his presence in Flanders imperative, his 
Ambassador, Stroppiana, came to Windsor in October, 

^ Gachard, iv. 19. 



392 CHRISTINA AT BRUSSELS [Bk. XI 

to be invested with the Garter^ as proxy for his 
master. 

It was not till Christmas Eve that the Duke himself 
landed at Dover, after a very rough passage, and made 
his way to Whitehall, where Philip and Mary re- 
ceived him with great honour, and showed him all 
the sights of London. On the 7th of January the 
Lord High Admiral took him by water to see the 
great guns at the Tower, and on St, Paul's Day he 
accompanied the King and the Cardinal in state 
to the Cathedral for the patronal feast. A pro- 
cession of 160 priests bearing crosses, walked round 
the churchyard, with the children of Paul's School 
and the Greyfriars, singing " Salve, Festa Dies !" 
and passed in through the great west doors. After 
Mass a state banquet was held, with great ringing 
of bells, and bonfires blazed in all the streets of 
London throughout the night .^ 

Emanuel Philibert's visit revived the rumour of a 
marriage between him and the Princess Elizabeth, 
which the Emperor had suggested some months before. 
Whether from policy or genuine regard, Philip had 
espoused his sister-in-law's cause and refused to allow 
Mary to send her abroad or keep her away from Court. 
The Duke of Savoy was a pleasant and good-looking 
Prince, whose martial appearance and genial manners 
made him very popular in England. But Elizabeth 
herself quite declined to listen to this proposal, 
saying that she would never marry a foreigner, 
and, since there now seemed good hope of the birth 
of an heir to the crown, the question of the succession 
was no longer of the first importance. Something, 

^ Ashmole, " The Order of the Garter," 383, 
2 Machyn, " Diary," 66, 79, 81. 



Jan., 1555] A ROYAL GODMOTHER 393 

however, must be done to pacify the Duke, who com- 
plained bitterly of the Emperor's neglect, and, seeing 
little chance of recovering Savoy, asked the King for 
the viceroyalty of Milan, which Ferrante Gonzaga, on 
his part, refused to surrender. Philip could think of 
no better plan to gratify his cousin and retain his 
services than to give him the hand of the Duchess of 
Lorraine, a Princess whom he was known to regard 
with great affection.^ 

Accordingly the King and Queen sent pressing 
invitations to Christina, begging her to come to 
England as soon as possible. Before she could 
comply with their request, she had to keep an old 
engagement to be present at the christening of Count 
Egmont's infant daughter, which took place on the 
evening of the 19th of January. The Queen of 
England had graciously consented to be one of the 
godmothers, while the Duchess of Lorraine was the 
other, and the Palatine Frederic stood godfather to 
his kinswoman's little daughter. Mary wrote to the 
Duchess of Aerschot, begging Anne to represent her 
on this occasion, and sent a costly gold cup containing 
forty angels to her godchild by the new Ambassador, 
Sir John Masone. The Palsgrave, not to be out- 
done, sent the child a diamond cross, and another 
one, set with rubies, diamonds, and emeralds, to the 
mother. Anne and Christina were both present at 
the christening, which was attended by all the Court, 
" everything," wrote Masone, " being very richly 
ordered, the supper and banquet right stately, and 
Her Majesty's cup so walked up and down, from man 
to woman, and woman to man, as I dare answer few 
were there that did not go full freighted to bed." 

^ Granvelle, iv. 341 ; F. de Noailles, " Ambassades," v. 42. 



394 CHRISTINA AT BRUSSELS [Bk. xi 

Sir John further told the Countess in what good 
part her request to make her daughter a Christian 
woman had been taken by his royal mistress, who 
would willingly have done the same in person, had 
the distance not been so great, and Sabina sent her 
most humble thanks to the Queen, saying that, as she 
already had one daughter called Mary, she had 
decided to name the infant Mary Christina, after her 
two godmothers.^ 

When this function was over, Christina began to 
prepare for her journey to England, but the weather 
was so tempestuous that she did not cross the Channel 
until the first days of March. She rode from Dover, 
by way of Canterbury, to London, where the King 
and Queen received her in the most cordial manner, 
Philip made no secret of his affection for his cousin, 
the only woman in his family with whom he had ever 
been intimate, and Mary, in the first flush of her 
wedded happiness and in the proud expectation of 
soon being a mother, welcomed Christina warmly. 
Unluckily, we have no particulars of the Duchess's 
visit to this country, over which she might have 
reigned herself as Queen. We know that she was 
present with the rest of the Court at the great joust 
held on Lady Day in the tilting-yard at Whitehall, 
when Philip and a band of knights, armed with 
falchions and targets, and clad in blue and yellow, 
rode out against two other troops in red and green, 
and some 200 lances were broken.^ But the only 
record that we have of this her first visit to England 
is a letter which she wrote to Mary on returning to 
Flanders. She thanked the Queen for the great 

^ Calendar of State Papers, Mary, Foreign, 150. 
2 Machyn, 82, 84. 



April, 1555] CHRISTINA'S GOOD WISHES 395 

honour and kindness which she had shown her, and 
commended the captain of the ship in which she 
sailed, who, as Her Majesty would doubtless learn, 
had rendered her notable service on this troublesome 
passage : 

** I will say no more," she adds, " except to regret 
that I am no longer in Your Majesty's presence to 
be able to render you some small service in return 
for all the goodness which I have received at your 
hands. I beg God, Madame, to send you good health 
and long life, and give you a fine boy, such as you 
desire. 

" Your very humble and obedient cousin 
and servant, 

" Chrestienne. 

"A la Royne."^ 

This letter bears no date, but the Duchess certainly 
left London before the King and Queen went to 
Hampton Court on the 4th of April, to spend Easter 
and prepare for the happy event which all England 
was anxiously expecting. She was at Antwerp with 
her aunt a month later, when, on the 3rd of May, 
" great news came over the seas." A messenger from 
the English ships in the port brought the Regent 
word that the Queen of England had been " brought 
to bed of a young Prince," upon which all the guns 
in the harbour were fired, and Mary ordered the 
big bells in the Tower to be rung, and sent the English 
sailors a hundred crowns to drink the royal infant's 
health. " I trust in God," wrote Sir Thomas 
Gresham, " that the news is true." The Emperor 
was more incredulous, and summoned Masone to his 
bedside at 5 a.m. the next morning, to know what 

^ Record Office Manuscripts; State Papers, Foreign, vi. 351 
(see Appendix) . 



396 CHRISTINA AT BRUSSELS [Bk. xi 

he thought of the matter, but soon satisfied himself 
that the news was false .^ 

The Savoy marriage, which Philip was so anxious 
to bring about, also ended in smoke. During Chris- 
tina's visit, the matter was brought forward and 
eagerly urged both by the King and Queen. Charles 
was no less anxious for the marriage, and Mary of 
Hungary proposed to appoint the Duke, Governor of 
the Low Countries when she resigned the office. The 
plan would have been very popular in Flanders, 
where the Duchess was beloved by all classes, and 
was warmly supported by Egmont and Orange. On 
the ist of May, Badoer, the Venetian Ambassador at 
Brussels, announced that the marriage contract had 
already been drawn up by De Praet, and that the 
Duke had started for Italy, disguised as a German, 
and only attended by one servant, to arrange his 
affairs in Piedmont before the wedding .^ 

The Venetian's news was apparently premature, 
but a fortnight later a Piedmontese noble. Count 
Avignano, came to London to consult Philip as to 
the marriage and arrange further details on his 
master's behalf. He talked freely at table to the 
French and Venetian Ambassadors, Noailles and 
Michieli, saying that the Emperor had offered his 
master the government of the Netherlands with the 
hand of Madame de Lorraine, an arrangement which 
he for his part regretted, thinking that the Duke 
would be more likely to recover his dominions if he 
married in France. But, since the friendship between 

^ Venetian Calendar, vi. i, 69; Calendar of State Papers, Mary, 
Foreign. 165; J. W. Burgon, "Life of Sir Thomas Gresham," 
i. 168. 

2 Record Office Manuscripts, Venetian Transcripts, 1555, 
No. 99. 



May, 1555] DUKE OF SAVOY'S MARRIAGE 397 

his lord and the Duchess was so great, he saw no 
hope of any other alhance, and the marriage was, in 
fact, considered by the Emperor and all his family 
to be practically settled.^ 

Emanuel Philibert, like many others, evidently 
felt the power of Christina's fascination, and enjoyed 
a large share of her intimacy. But he does not seem 
to have shown any great eagerness for the marriage, 
whether it was that, as Avignano said, it would be 
a bar to the recovery of his States, or whether he 
recognized the Duchess's own insuperable objection 
to matrimony. 

When, towards the end of May, a party of English 
Commissioners met the French and Imperial deputies 
at Marck, a village near Calais, to treat of peace, an 
offer was made by the French to give Henry II's. 
sister Margaret to the Duke of Savoy. The Imperial 
deputies expressed a doubt if this were possible, as 
the Duke's word was already pledged ; but Cardinal 
Pole replied that the Prince was quite free, and ready 
to agree to any proposal by which he could recover his 
realm. These negotiations, however, were soon broken 
off, and on Philip's return to Brussels in September 
the old scheme of the Lorraine marriage was revived 
with fresh ardour. When the Duke of Savoy returned 
from Italy in August, the Regent made him attend 
the meetings of the Council, and treated him in all 
ways as her future successor, hoping by this means 
to obtain his consent to her wishes. But both 
Emanuel Philibert and Christina remained of the 
same mind, and neither Philip's entreaties nor Mary 
of Hungary's angry reproaches could alter their 
resolution. The Duke pleaded poverty as an excuse, 
^ Noailles, v. 74, 80; Venetian Calendar, vi. i, 151. 



398 CHRISTINA AT BRUSSELS [Bk. XI 

lamenting his inability to offer his wife a home and 
station worthy of her rank, and was evidently deter- 
mined to sacrifice his affections to political ex- 
pediency, although, as the French Ambassador re- 
ported, " he still made love through the window to 
Madame de Lorraine."^ 



III. 

Charles V.'s intention to abdicate his throne had 
long been declared. For many years he had looked 
forward to the time when he should lay down the 
burden of public affairs and retire from the world, to 
end his days in some peaceful cloister. The in- 
creasing infirmities under which he groaned, his 
inability to attend either camp or council, and finally 
the death of his mother. Queen Joanna, in April, 
1555, all helped to hasten the execution of his resolve. 
Only the continuation of the war and the absence 
of his son still made him hesitate. 

The same indecisive warfare as before was carried 
on through the year. The Prince of Orange, who 
now held the chief command, succeeded in keeping 
the foe at bay, and built the citadels of Charlemont 
and Philippeville for the defence of the frontier. 
But everyone was heartily tired of the campaign, 
and both parties gladly availed themselves of the 
opportunity afforded by an exchange of prisoners, 
to renew negotiations in the autumn. Christina 
once, more exerted herself in this direction, and 
Vaudemont, who came to Brussels in October to 
take leave of the Emperor, was employed to make 

1 Noailles, v. igi ; Venetian Calendar, vi. i, 211; P. Friedmann, 
" Les Depeches de Michieli," 42. 



Sept., 1555] PHILIP LEAVES ENGLAND 399 

fresh overtures to the French King. But many 
months passed before any conclusion was reached.^ 
Charles had always hoped that his sister would 
remain at her post when he left the Netherlands, 
feeling how invaluable her help would prove to Philip . 
But Mary was inflexible on this point. In a noble 
letter which she wrote at the end of August, she 
reminded him that fifteen years before she had begged 
to be released from her arduous post in order to 
devote herself to the care of her unhappy mother, 
and that, now this privilege could no longer be hers, 
she wished to spend the rest of her life in Spain with 
her sister. Queen Eleanor. 

" And however great," she adds significantly, " my 
affection for the King my nephew may be," in 
Badoer's graphic phrase, " he hates and is hated by 
her " — " Your Majesty will understand that at my 
age it would be very hard to begin learning my ABC 
over again. A woman of fifty, who has held office 
twenty-four years, ought, it seems to me, to be content 
to serve one God and one Master for the rest of her 
life." 2 

There was nothing more to be said, and Charles 
agreed to Philip's wish that for the present the Duke 
of Savoy should be appointed Lieutenant-Governor 
of the Low Countries. At length Philip succeeded 
in tearing himself from the arms of his sorrowful 
Queen, promising to be back in a fortnight or three 
weeks. From her palace windows at Greenwich, 
Mary waved her last farewells to the King, as he 
sailed down the Thames. He for his part was nothing 
loth to leave his fretful and melancholy wife, and 
was satisfied that she would never bear him a child. 

^ Calendar of State Papers, Mary, Foreign, 189. 
2 Granvelle, iv 469. 



400 CHRISTINA AT BRUSSELS [Bk. xi 

On the 8th of September he reached Brussels, and 
went straight to see his father in the Casino, near 
the Louvain gate of the park, where he was spending 
the hot weather. Charles embraced his son tenderly, 
and after an hour's conversation Philip went on to 
sup with Queen Mary and Christina on their return 
from hunting. On the 17th and i8th he attended 
the Requiem Masses held in S. Gudule for the late 
Queen Joanna, and afterwards joined in a grand 
hunting-party given by the Regent in his honour. 

The nobles now flocked to Brussels to be present 
at the Emperor's abdication. The Prince of Orange 
arrived from the camp near Liege, and his young wife, 
Anne of Egmont, was hospitably entertained by the 
Duchess of Aerschot. Friday, the 25th of October, 
was the day fixed for the great ceremony. On this 
afternoon, at three o'clock, the Emperor left the 
Casino with Philip and the Duke of Savoy, and rode 
to the palace on his mule. An hour later he entered 
the great hall, hung with the tapestries of Gideon's 
Fleece, wearing his mourning robes and the collar of 
the Order, and leaning on the Prince of Orange's 
arm. He was followed by Mary of Hungary, Philip, 
and the Duke of Savoy, who took their places on the 
dais at the Emperor's side, while the Knights of the 
Fleece, the great nobles and Ambassadors, occupied 
seats below. The deputies, over a thousand in 
number, who thronged the hall, rose to their feet to 
receive the Emperor, and then sat down to hear the 
chief Councillor, Philibert of Brussels, deliver a 
speech, explaining the reasons for His Majesty's 
abdication. Then Charles himself addressed the vast 
assembly. In moving words he recalled the day, 
forty years before, when, a boy of fifteen, he had been 



Oct., 1555] THE EMPEROR'S ABDICATION 401 

declared of age by his grandfather, the Emperor 
Maximihan, and glanced briefly at the long record 
of wars and journeys, and the other chief events of his 
reign. Finally he commended his successor to them, 
asking them to serve his son as well as they had served 
him, and begging his loyal subjects to pardon him 
for any injustice which he might unwittingly have 
done them. Tears rolled down the great Emperor's 
cheeks as he spoke these last words, and Sir Thomas 
Gresham, who was present, says that there was not 
a dry eye in the whole assembly. 

Christina was present on this memorable occasion. 
In contemporary prints she is represented standing 
by the side of the Regent's chair, listening with 
breathless attention to every word that fell from her 
uncle's lips. She saw the pathetic scene between 
the father and son, when Charles, raising Philip from 
his knees and clasping him in his arms, gave him 
the investiture of the Provinces, and, turning to the 
deputies, in a broken voice asked them to excuse 
his tears, which flowed for love of them. And she 
listened with still greater emotion to the touching 
words in which Mary begged the Emperor and the 
States to forgive whatever mistakes she had made 
out of ignorance or incapacity, and thanked them 
from the depth of her heart for their unfailing love 
and loyalty. Her speech produced a fresh burst of 
tears, after which Charles thanked his sister for her 
long and faithful services, and Maes, the Pensionary 
of Antwerp, bore eloquent testimony to the undying 
love and gratitude which the States felt for the Queen 
who had governed them so well. 

There were still many formalities to be gone 
through, many farewells to be said, before Charles 



402 CHRISTINA AT BRUSSELS [Bk. xi 

could lay down the sovereign power. On the day 
after his abdication, the Archduke Ferdinand, his 
favourite nephew, arrived with affectionate messages 
from his father, who found it impossible to leave 
Vienna as long as the war with the Turks lasted. 
The next day he went hunting with the King, Mary, 
and Christina, and dined with them and Eleanor. 
On the 3rd of November he left Brussels again after 
all too short a visit, as Charles wrote to his brother. 

Another guest who took leave of the Emperor in 
the same week was Edward Courtenay, Lord Devon- 
shire. This young nobleman of the blood royal had 
been exiled from England lest he should marry 
Elizabeth, and had been so often seen in the palace 
during the last few months that rumour said he was 
going to wed Madame of Lorraine. Now he came 
to thank her for the " gentle entertainment " which 
she had shown him, and bid her a reluctant farewell 
before he left for Italy. In the following spring another 
old friend, Adolf of Holstein, came to Brussels and 
took leave of the Emperor. The Danish Prince, 
hearing that all idea of the Savoy marriage was 
abandoned, took this opportunity to make a last 
attempt to win Christina's hand. But not even the 
Duke's constancy could induce her to change her 
mind, and he went away disconsolate.^ 

A fresh sorrow awaited her in the death of her 
brother-in-law, the Elector Palatine, who breathed his 
last at Alzei, in the Lower Palatinate, on the 26th of 
February, 1 5 56. The fine old man was in his seventy- 
third year, and had been tenderly nursed all through 
a long illness by his wife. Three weeks before his 
death Dorothea sent for his nephew and successor, 
* Venetian Calendar, vi. 603. 



Feb., 1556] DEATH OF THE PALATINE 403 

Otto Heinrich, who remained with him to the end, 
and brought his body to Heidelberg. Here he lay 
in state for three days in the Court chapel, after 
which his remains were borne down the castle slopes 
by eight noblemen, and laid with his forefathers in 
the church of the Holy Ghost. By order of the new 
Elector, he was buried with Lutheran rites. Dorothea 
and Countess Helene followed on foot with a long 
train of nobles and students of the University, bearing 
lighted tapers, and German hymns were sung by the 
Canons and school-children.^ 

Christina's first impulse was to hasten to her 
widowed sister, but neither the Emperor nor his 
sisters would allow her to leave the Netherlands 
before their departure, saying that she was as dear 
and indispensable to them as a daughter.^ She was 
present at the Casino in the park on the i6th of 
January, when Charles resigned the kingdoms of 
Spain and Sicily and his dominions in the New World 
to Philip, and she accompanied Mary to Antwerp 
when Philip held his first Chapter of the Fleece. 
Among the new Knights elected at this meeting were 
William of Orange, Philip, Duke of Aerschot, and 
Christina's old friend Jean De Montmorency, Sieur de 
Courrieres, whose whole life had been spent in the 
Emperor's service, and who had deserved well of 
Philip by helping to arrange his marriage with Mary 
Tudor .^ 

On the 5th of February, 1556, the long-protracted 
peace negotiations were brought to a happy conclusion, 
and a five years' truce was signed at the Abbey of Vau- 
celles,near Cambray,byLalaing on Philip's part and by 

* L. Haiisser, i. 630. 2 Venetian Calendar, vi. 197. 

^ De ReifEenberg, " Histoire de la Toison d'Or," 451. 



404 CHRISTINA AT BRUSSELS [Bk. XI 

Coligny on that of Henry. Both parties were to retain 
their conquests, and the chief prisoners on both sides 
were to be released . On Lady Day the French Admiral 
brought the treaty to be confirmed by the King at 
Brussels, and was received by Philip in the palace. 
By an unlucky chance, the great hall in which the 
reception took place was hung with tapestries repre- 
senting the defeat of Pavia and surrender of Francis I . 
This wounded the vanity of the French lords, and the 
King's jester, Brusquet, who had accompanied 
Coligny, determined to have his revenge on the 
haughty Spanish Prince. So the next morning at 
Mass in the Court church, when Philip was in the 
act of taking his oath on the Gospels to keep the truce, 
Brusquet suddenly raised a cry of " Largesse !" and, 
taking a handful of French crowns from a sack which 
his valet carried, flung them to the crowds who had 
collected in the great hall adjoining the chapel. The 
King looked round in surprise at Coligny, who 
stood dumbfounded, while men, women, and children, 
rushed to pick up the coins on the floor, and had to 
be warned off by the archers' pikes. The King was 
about to ask angrily by what right the French did 
largesse in his palace, when both Queen Mary and 
Madame de Lorraine burst into uncontrollable fits of 
laughter, in which Philip joined so heartily that he 
had to cling to the altar to save himself from falling. 
This absurd incident was related to Charles when, 
on the following Sunday of Pdques-fleuries , Coligny 
went to visit him in the Casino. " Well, Brusquet," 
he said to the jester, " how are you ? I hear you have 
been doing me fine largesse with your crowns." 
" Sire," replied Brusquet, dropping on one knee, 
" you take the words out of my mouth in condescend- 



May, 1556] LAST FESTIVITIES 40^ 

ing to notice a worm like myself." And the poor fool 
went home to boast of his interview with the great 
Emperor to the end of his life.^ 

A grand tournament was held in the park at Brussels 
to celebrate the conclusion of the truce, and Egmont 
distinguished himself above all competitors by his 
prowess. But a quarrel arose between Philip and 
his aunt, Mary of Hungary, who complained of the 
disrespect with which her nephew and his Spanish 
courtiers treated her, saying that, although she had 
laid down the Regency, she expected to be treated 
with the honour due to a Queen. She retired to her 
own domain at Turnhout, but had her revenge a 
few weeks later, for the States proved so unwilling to 
grant the aids demanded by the King that Philip was 
forced to send Arras to beg for his aunt's help. Mary 
consented to return as soon as she had despatched 
her most urgent private affairs, and so invaluable 
was her influence with the Council, that Philip joined 
his father in entreating her to remain at Brussels 
during his absence in England. This, however, Mary 
quite refused to do, saying that the Duke of Savoy 
would no doubt prove an excellent substitute.^ 

The King and Queen of Bohemia, whom Charles 
was very anxious to see before his departure, 
and whose journey had been repeatedly delayed, at 
length reached Brussels on the i8th of July. Their 
presence was the signal for a last series of festivities. 
There were jousts on the Grande Place, banquets in 
the hotel-de-ville, hunting-parties at Groenendal in the 
forest of Soignies, and suppers at the Villa Laura, 

^ G. Ribier, " Lettres et Memoires d'Etat," ii. 634; T. Juste, 
94; Venetian Calendar, vi. 369. 

2 Venetian Calendar, vi. 421,443,457; T. Juste, loi; Gachard, 
" Retraite," etc., i. 41. 

27 



4o6 CHRISTINA AT BRUSSELS [Bk. XI 

where Mary entertained her nephews and nieces at 
an open-air concert. King Max was in high spirits. 
He made great friends with the Venetian Badoer, and 
frankly avowed his dishke of the Spaniards, saying, 
with a ringing laugh, that he was glad to hear the 
English had taught them a lesson or two. The visit 
was not without its political intention, and Maximilian 
succeeded in persuading his uncle to consent to 
Ferdinand's entreaty, and retain the imperial title 
for the present, in order to avoid any dispute on the 
question of the succession.^ 

When his daughter and her husband left Brussels, 
on the 8th of August, Charles felt himself a free man. 
At half-past four in the afternoon he set out for 
Ghent, after receiving the farewells of the chief 
nobles and Bishops. Many were in tears, but the 
Emperor remained calm and serene until he rode 
out of the gates, escorted for the last time by his 
faithful archers. Then, turning round, he took a last 
long look at the city towers and wept bitterly. " Every- 
one about him was in tears," says Badoer, " and 
many wept when he was gone."^ Christina accom- 
panied her aunts to Ghent a few days later, and went 
on at the end of the month with the Queens and 
Emperor to Zeeland, to wait for a fair wind. On the 
15th of October Charles embarked at Flushing, and 
his sisters followed on another ship. Two days 
later an easterly breeze sprang up and the fleet set 
sail. Christina stood on the shore till the ship which 
bore the great Emperor from his native land dropped 
below the horizon. Then she retraced her steps 
sorrowfully to join her children at Ghent. 

^ Lanz, iii. 709; Venetian Calendar, vi. 537. 
2 Venetian Despatches, 90 (Record Office). 



Oct., 1556] FRUSTRATED WISIHES 407 



IV. 

When her uncle and aunts were gone, Christina 
felt that there was nothing more to keep her at 
Brussels. She had already thought of retiring to her 
dower city of Tortona, but the castle was occupied 
by a Spanish garrison, and while the war lasted the 
Lombard city was hardly a safe place. This being 
the case, she asked Philip's leave to take up her 
residence at Vigevano, the summer palace of the 
Sforzas, which the Duke had bequeathed to her, 
but was told that this house was required for the 
Viceroy's use. After the Palatine's death she was 
seized with a longing to join Dorothea, and proposed 
to go to Heidelberg, and then on to Lorraine, in the 
hope that, now peace was signed, the French King 
would allow her son to enjoy his own again. But 
there were more difficulties in the way than she had 
anticipated.^ 

Simon Renard and the other delegates to the con- 
ference at Vaucelles were especially charged to 
include the Duke of Lorraine's restoration among 
their demands; but the French, while professing the 
utmost friendship for both the Duchess and her son, 
pointed out that her guardianship would expire in 
another year, and that the Regent Vaudemont and 
the Guises, who were the Duke's nearest kinsmen, 
agreed to his residence at the French Court. In vain 
Renard and Lalaing protested at the strange kindness 
shown to the Duchess in detaining her son. This 
only led to a long wrangle, which almost caused the 
rupture of peace negotiations, and eventually no 

' Venetian Calendar, vi. 197, 362, 



4o8 CHRISTINA AT BRUSSELS [Bk. xi 

mention was made of Lorraine in the articles of the 
truce. 

In May Christina's alarm was aroused by an in- 
timation from the French Court that the King was 
going to Nancy to celebrate his daughter Claude's 
wedding with the Duke, and occupy the capital of 
Lorraine. Fortunately, Vaudemont opposed this 
measure, saying that as Regent he had sworn never 
to give up his post until his nephew was of age, and 
begged the King to allow Charles to return to Nancy 
and take possession of his State before his marriage.^ 
This unexpected firmness on Vaudemont 's part pro- 
duced the desired effect. Henry's journey to Lorraine 
was put off for a year, and at the Duchess's urgent 
request the Cardinal of Lorraine obtained the King's 
leave to bring the boy to meet her at the Castle of 
Coucy, near his own house at Peronne. But when 
Philip was asked to give the Duchess permission to 
cross the frontier, he made so many irksome con- 
ditions, that Henry withdrew his promise, and the 
long-desired meeting was again deferred. Christina 
was cruelly disappointed, and could only take comfort 
from Vaudemont 's assurances that before long her 
son would be free from control and able to decide for 
himself.^ 

Philip on his part was extremely anxious to keep 
the Duchess at Brussels. As Brantome tells us, the 
King not only cherished great affection for his 
cousin, but relied implicitly on her tact and wisdom, 
and, in compliance with his entreaties, she consented 
to remain at the palace and do the honours of his 
Court .^ Her popularity with the nobles made her 

^ Granvelle, iv. 574, 577. ^ Ihid., iv. 701. 

^ Brantdme, xii. 114. 



Oct., 1556] MARY'S JEALOUSY 409 

presence the more desirable, while the King himself 
found her company far more to his taste than that 
of the faded and fretful wife who awaited him in 
England. Every post brought bitter reproaches and 
passionate prayers from the unhappy Queen, whose 
hopes of her lord's return were doomed to perpetual 
disappointment. Already more than a year had 
passed since he had left England, and there still seemed 
no prospect of his return. First the peace confer- 
ences, then the King of Bohemia's visit and the 
Emperor's departure, were pleaded as excuses for 
these prolonged delays. When the fleet that bore 
the Emperor to Spain was seen off Dover, the 
Admiral who visited His Majesty on board, brought 
back messages to say that the King would shortly 
cross the Channel. On hearing this, Mary's spirits 
rose, and it was only by Philip's express desire that 
she refrained from going to meet him at Dover. In 
October the royal stables and equerries arrived, but 
Philip himself wrote that the war which had broken 
out in Italy between Alva, the Viceroy of Naples, and 
Pope Paul IV., compelled him to return to Brussels. 
Then Mary broke into a passion of rage mingled with 
sobs and tears, and shut herself up in her room, re- 
fusing to see any visitors. The dulness of the Court 
had become intolerable ; there were no fetes and few 
audiences, and the Ambassadors with one accord 
begged to be recalled. The Queen's ill-temper vented 
itself on all who approached her presence, and even 
in public she occasionally gave way to paroxysms 
of fury.^ Suspicions of her husband's fidelity to his 
marriage vows now came to increase her misery. 
When she heard of Philip going on long hunting- 
^ P. Friedmann, 254-267; Noailles, v. 355, 362. 



4IO CHRISTINA AT BRUSSELS [Bk. XI 

parties with the Duchess of Lorraine, and dancing 
with her at masques, she was seized with transports 
of rage, and, rushing at the portrait of her husband 
which hung over her bed, was with difficulty restrained 
from cutting it to pieces.^ 

Meanwhile a rival to Christina appeared at Court 
in the person of the King's half-sister Margaret, 
Duchess of Parma. This Princess, the illegitimate 
daughter of Charles V. and Margaret Van Gheynst, 
a beautiful maiden in the Countess Lalaing's service, 
was born at Oudenarde in 1 522, and brought up under 
the eye of the Archduchess Margaret. At thirteen 
she was married to Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of 
Florence, with whom she led a miserable life until 
this worthless Prince was murdered by his cousin in 
1537. Her second union, with Ottavio Farnese, 
Pope Paul III.'s grandson, proved little happier. 
Ottavio was an intractable boy of thirteen when he 
married her in November, 1538, and the quarrels of 
the young couple fill pages of the Emperor's corre- 
spondence in the archives of Simancas. After the 
Duke's return from the expedition to Algiers, a 
reconciliation was effected, and Margaret bore a son, 
who became the famous captain Alexander of Parma. 
But the Farnese were always a thorn in the Emperor's 
side, and, by joining with his foes at a critical moment, 
involved him in the gravest disaster of his life. Now 
harmony was restored in the family circle, and when 
the war with Paul IV. broke out, Philip secured 
Ottavio 's alliance by giving him the citadel of 
Piacenza. Margaret and her young son came to the 
Netherlands to pay their respects to the King and 

^ Friedmann, 56; Noailles, " Affaires Etrangeres : Angleterre," 
xix. (Bibliothdque Nationale). 



Dec, 1556] THE DUCHESS OF PARMA 411 

thank him for this mark of his favour. They arrived 
at Christmas, in the depths of the severest winter 
that had been known for many years. The Scheldt 
was frozen over at Antwerp, and the Court was busy 
with winter sports, in which PhiHp and Christina 
took an active part, playing games and sleighing in 
the park, and attending a masked ball given by Count 
Lalaing on the ice.^ 

The Duchess of Parma was received with due 
honour at Court, and was cordially welcomed by 
Christina, who had known her as a child. A handsome 
woman of thirty-five, she resembled her Flemish 
mother more than her imperial father, and bore few 
traces of her Habsburg origin. She had none of 
Christina's distinction and refinement, while her 
manners were too haughty to please the Flemish 
nobles. But she had a keen eye to her own interests, 
and the atmosphere of deception and intrigue in 
which her married life had been spent had taught 
her to adapt herself to circumstances. She contrived 
to make herself agreeable both to Philip and Chris- 
tina, with whom most of her time was spent. The 
new Venetian Ambassador, Soranzo, paid his respects 
to the two ladies on his arrival, and found both of 
them very friendly and pleasant. The Duchess of 
Lorraine, as Badoer had frequently remarked, was 
always particularly cordial to the Venetian Signory, 
to whom her first husband, the Duke of Milan, owed 
so much. At the same time the Queen of England, 
anxious to show civility to her husband's family, 
sent Sir Richard Shelley to give the Duchess of 
Parma a sisterly welcome, and invite her to come to 
London.^ 

1 Venetian Calendar, vi, 863, ^ Jhid. vi. 914, 932. 



412 CHRISTINA AT BRUSSELS [Bk. XI 

In the midst of the Christmas festivities, news 
reached Brussels of a treacherous attempt of the 
French, under Coligny, to surprise Douay. Fortu- 
nately the plot was discovered in time ; but the truce 
was broken, and every day fresh incursions were made 
by the French, which naturally produced reprisals. 
The rupture was complete, and, in his anxiety to 
secure the help of England in the coming struggle, 
the King at length crossed the Channel, and joined 
Mary at Greenwich on the 21st of January, 1557. 
Political exigencies had done more to hasten his 
return than all his wife's prayers and tears, but in 
her joy she recked little of this, and guns were fired 
and Te Deums chanted throughout the realm. 
Before leaving Brussels, Philip had made arrange- 
ments for the two Duchesses to follow him in a 
few days. Their society, he felt, would help to 
dispel the gloom of Mary's Court, and Margaret's 
coming would allay any jealousy which Christina's 
visit might excite. Another and more important 
motive for his cousin's presence in England at this 
moment was his anxiety to revive the old scheme of 
a marriage between the Princess Elizabeth and the 
Duke of Savoy. Mary's state of health made her 
sister's marriage a matter of the highest importance, 
and the new quarrel with France had put an end 
to the Duke's hopes in that quarter. As both 
the French and Venetian Ambassadors constantly 
affirmed, Emanuel Philibert was the only foreign 
Prince whom the English would tolerate, and Chris- 
tina herself told Vaudemont that she was going to 
England, by the King's wish, to bring back Madame 
Elizabeth as the Duke of Savoy's bride .^ 
^ Venetian Calendar, vi. 10 15, 1080. 




PHILIP II. (1554) 
By Jacopo da Trezzo (British Museum) 




MARY, QUEEN OF ENGLAND (1554) 
By Jacopo da Trezzo (British Museum) 




MARGARET OF AUSTRIA 

DUCHESS OF PARMA 

By Pastorino 




ANTOINE PERRENOT 

CARDINAL GRANVELLE 

By Leone Leoni 



To face p. 412 



Feb., 1557] CHRISTINA AT WHITEHALL 413 

The King had a calm passage to Dover, but the 
ladies were less fortunate, for an equinoctial gale 
sprang up when they were halfway across the 
Channel. 

" The Duchesses," wrote Philip's secretary, Jean de 
Courteville, " had to dance without music between 
Dover and Calais, and the results were such as are 
commonly the case with travellers unaccustomed to 
the sea. The great festivities we are having here this 
Lent will grieve them the less."^ 

But if the passage was disagreeable, nothing was 
lacking in the kindness of their reception. The Queen 
sent her litter to meet them at Dover, with chariot 
and hackney horses for their suite, and at Gravesend, 
Lady Lennox and Lady Kildare were waiting to 
conduct them in the royal barge to Whitehall. Here 
Philip received them at the water-gate, and led them 
up the steps into the great hall, where Mary wel- 
comed her guests. The King and Queen who had 
only arrived from Greenwich the day before rode 
in state through the city, with the Lord Mayor 
carrying the sceptre at the head of the guilds and 
crafts of London, while a salute was fired from the 
Tower and bells rang from all the churches. 

Both the Duchesses were lodged in the Palace of 
Westminster, Christina in rooms on the ground-floor, 
looking on the gardens, and Margaret in an apart- 
ment on the upper floor, commanding a view of the 
Thames.^ Soon after their arrival another visitor 
was brought by the Bishop of London to see Their 
Majesties — an Envoy from the Czar of Muscovy, 
who was lodged in Fenchurch Street, as the guest of 

^ Kervyn de Lettenhove, " Relations des Pays-Bas avec 
I'Angleterre," i. 67. 2 Gachard, iv. 25. 



414 CHRISTINA AT BRUSSELS [Bk. XI 

the Company of Muscovite Merchants. Englishmen 
and Spaniards, Lorrainers and Itahans, ahke looked 
with curious eyes at this stranger from the shores of 
the Polar Sea, who was clad in robes of Oriental 
splendour, and whose turban glittered with gems. 
He brought the Queen a present of magnificent sables 
from the Czar, and saluted her by bowing his whole 
body down and touching the ground with his hand. 
In spite of his strange clothes and barbarous language, 
he was a cultivated person, as keen to see the sights 
of London as Christina herself. One day he dined 
with the Lord Mayor in gorgeous attire, another he 
attended Mass at Westminster and saw St. Edward's 
shrine, with the relics which had been fortunately 
preserved when the Abbey was plundered.^ 

After spending a fortnight at Whitehall, Philip 
and Mary took their guests to spend Easter at 
Greenwich. On Maundy Thursday the King and 
Queen washed the feet of a number of poor beggars, 
and blessed the cramp rings, which were as much 
prized in Spain and Flanders as in England. Easter 
Day witnessed fresh balls and banquets, dog and 
bear fights, bull- baiting and horse-races, after which 
a large hunting-party was given in the park for the 
Duchess of Lorraine's amusement. On the 22nd of 
April the royal party returned to Whitehall for St. 
George's Feast. High Mass was celebrated in the 
Abbey by the Bishop of Winchester, and all the 
Knights of the Garter, in their mantles of royal blue, 
walked in procession round the inner court of the 
palace, while the Queen and her guests looked on from 
a window on the garden side. The King and Queen 
and all the Knights of the Order attended vespers in 

^ Machyn, 130-134. 



April, 1557] ST. GEORGE'S FEAST 415 

the Abbey, after which the Muscovite Envoy came 
to take leave of Their Majesties, and dehvered a long 
farewell speech, which was translated by an inter- 
preter into English and Spanish, expressing his hope 
that these mighty Sovereigns might live to see their 
children's children. Six English ships were in readi- 
ness to escort the stranger across the Northern seas, 
and prevent him falling into the hands of the Norse- 
men, who were jealous of English interference with 
the trade of Muscovy. 

On Sunday the Queen gave a grand banquet, and 
appeared resplendent in cloth of gold and jewels. 
Christina sat on her right, and Margaret, with her 
little son, on the King's left hand. The next morning 
the Duchess of Parma left for Italy, but Christina, 
at Philip's entreaty, remained in London another 
ten days. She was already very popular with the 
English, and made friends with Lord Arundel, Lord 
Pembroke, and several other nobles and ladies at 
Court, while her splendid robes and jewels, her 
numerous suite and fine horses, excited general 
admiration. In the midst of the Court fetes, she 
found time to visit several shrines and places of 
interest, and, while the King was holding the Chapter 
of the Garter on St. George's Day, went by water to 
the Tower, and was shown its treasures and antiquities. 
But in one respect her visit proved a failure. Mary 
refused to entertain any idea of the Savoy marriage, 
and would not even allow Christina a glimpse of 
Princess Elizabeth, who was kept at Hatfield in 
strict seclusion during her visit. What was worse, 
the Duchess's presence revived all the Queen's 
jealousy, and, in spite of the King's protests, Christina 
found it prudent to hasten her departure. All manner 



4i6 CHRISTINA AT BRUSSELS [Bk. xi 

of stories about Mary's dislike of the Duchess found 
their way to the French Court, and King Henry had 
many jokes with Soranzo on the subject, and told 
him he heard that the Queen flew into a frantic 
passion when the King led out his cousin to dance 
at Greenwich.^ 

Philip did his best to atone for his wife's ill-humour, 
and, when Christina expressed a wish to visit Ghent 
on her return, wrote to ask the Duke of Savoy to see 
that she and her daughters were well lodged and 
entertained in the old Prinzenhof. On the nth of 
May the Duchess wrote a formal letter of thanks to 
the Queen from Dover, acknowledging the attentions 
which she had received from Her Majesty and all 
her subjects, and on the 8th of June she sent her a 
second letter from Ghent, on behalf of the widow 
and daughter of Sir Jacques de Granado, a Brabant 
gentleman who had been Equerry to Henry VIII. 
and Edward VI., and had met his death by accident 
during the Duchess's visit. As he rode into the 
privy garden at Whitehall before the Queen's 
chariot, his bridle broke, the horse shied violently, 
and dashed his rider's head against the wall. Sir 
Jacques was killed on the spot, and buried at St. 
Dunstan's in the East two days afterwards with a 
great display of torches and escutcheons. On Chris- 
tina's recommendation, the Queen granted a pension 
of ;^5o to the widow, and saw that she and her children 
were amply provided for.^ 

From Ghent the Duchess went to meet her sister 
Dorothea at Jiilich, the Court of the Duke of Cleves 

^ Venetian Calendar, vi. 1154; Kervyn de Lettenhove, i. 68. 
2 Machyn, 135, 136; Calendar of State Papers, Mary, Foreign, 
305> 314- 



June, 1557] THE VICTORY OF ST. QUENTIN 417 

and the Archduchess Maria. The reformed faith 
was now firmly established in the Palatinate, and 
Dorothea's well-known Lutheran leanings were a 
great source of annoyance to her own family. " The 
Electress Dorothea," wrote Badoer from Brussels 
in 1557, " is known to be a Lutheran and against 
the Emperor, and is as much hated here as her sister 
Christina is beloved." From his retreat at St. Yuste, 
Charles begged Philip to invite Dorothea to settle at 
Brussels, " lest one of our own blood should openly 
forsake the faith." When the Princess declined this 
proposal, Philip and Arras desired Christina to use 
her influence to bring her sister to a better mind. 
But Dorothea resisted all these attempts obstinately, 
and went back to Neuburg to live among her 
husband's kindred and worship God in her own way.^ 
On the ist of June England declared war against 
France, and Philip returned to Brussels, having 
accomplished the object of his journey. Here he 
was joined by the Duchess of Lorraine and the Count 
of Vaudemont, who came to Flanders to try and 
reopen peace negotiations. But the moment, as 
Arras told him, was singularly inopportune, since 
Philip was armed to the teeth and had England at 
his back. On the nth of August the King left 
Brussels for the camp before St. Quentin, where he 
arrived just too late to claim a share in the brilliant 
victory gained by the Duke of Savoy and Egmont 
over the French on St. Lawrence's Day. The 
Constable Montmorency, the Marshal St. Andre, 
Admiral Coligny, and the Rhinegrave, were among 
the prisoners made on this memorable day, together 
with all the guns and fifty-six colours. The news 

^ Granvelle, v. 86-113. 



41 8 CHRISTINA AT BRUSSELS [Bk. xi 

of this decisive victory was celebrated with great 
joy both in Brussels and across the Channel. Te 
Deum was sung in St. Paul's, and the loyal citizens 
of London lighted bonfires and sat up drinking 
through the livelong night ; while in Paris the King 
and Queen went to Notre Dame in sackcloth, and 
Henry II. carried the Crown of Thorns in procession 
from the Sainte Chapelle. In the lonely monastery 
far away on the heights of Estremadura, the news 
sent a thrill to the great Emperor's heart, and he 
asked eagerly in what route his son was marching 
on Paris. Had Philip followed this course, had he, 
in Suriano's words, " taken Fortune at the flood," 
he might have brought the campaign to a triumphant 
close. But, with characteristic timidity, he confined 
himself to capturing St. Quentin, and then returned 
to Brussels, throwing away such an opportunity as 
comes but once a lifetime.^ 

^ Venetian Calendar, vi. 1287; Machyn, 147; Gachard, " Re- 
traite," etc., 176. 



BOOK XII 

THE PEACE OF CATEAU-CAMBRESIS 
1557— 1559 

I. 

The lull that followed the decisive battle of St. 
Quentin afforded the Duchess of Lorraine a favour- 
able opportunity for resuming her efforts to open 
negotiations between the contending monarchs. The 
Constable, after fighting like a lion and receiving a 
severe wound, had been made prisoner, and was 
taken to the Castle of Ghent, where Christina and 
her daughters were staying. The Duchess paid him 
daily visits, and brought him letters of condolence 
from her aunt Eleanor, who wrote that she wished 
she were still in Flanders to nurse her old friend. 
More than this : Christina obtained leave for his wife 
to visit him, and even proposed that the prisoner 
should be allowed to go to France on parole. These 
good offices gratified the French King, who was very 
anxious for his favourite's release, and whose behaviour 
towards the Duchess now underwent a marked 
change.^ 

The young Duke Charles was almost fifteen, and 
his marriage to the Princess Claude was fixed for the 
following spring. With the King's leave, he sent his 

1 F. Decrue, " Montmorency a la Cour de Henri II.," 207. 

419 



420 PEACE OF CAtEAU-CAMBRESIS [Bk. XII 

steward to Ghent to invite his mother to the wedding, 
and at the same time make proposals of peace through 
Montmorency. These letters were laid before Philip 
by Christina, and a brisk correspondence was carried 
on between her and the Constable. In December 
Vaudemont came to Brussels, bringing portraits of 
Charles and his bride as a gift from Henry II. to the 
Duchess, and negotiations were actively pursued.^ 
But just when the wished-for goal at length seemed 
to be in sight, and Christina was rejoicing to think 
of once more seeing her son, all her hopes were 
shattered by the Duke of Guise's capture of Calais. 
The surprise had been cleverly planned and brilliantly 
executed. The new fortifications of the town were 
unfinished, and after a gallant resistance the little 
garrison was overpowered and forced to capitulate, 
on the 8th of January, 1558. This unexpected success 
revived the courage of the French, and strengthened 
the Guise brothers in the determined opposition 
which they offered to peace. The star of their house 
was at its zenith, and on the 24th of April the 
marriage of their niece, the young Queen of Scots, to 
the Dauphin, was celebrated with great splendour 
at Paris. In deference to his mother's wishes, the 
Duke of Lorraine's wedding was put off till the 
following year, when he should have attained his 
majority; but he figured conspicuously in the day's 
pageant, and led his lovely cousin in her lily-white 
robes and jewelled crown up the nave of Notre 
Dame .2 

The French King now gave his consent to Vaude- 

^ Venetian Calendar, vi. 1346, 1363. 

2 Ruble, "La Jeunesse de Marie Stuart," 153; Bouille, i. 455 ; 
Pimodan, 173-180. 



May, 1558] CHRISTINA MEETS HER SON 421 

mont's request, that a meeting should be arranged 
between the Duke and his mother in the neighbour- 
hood of Peronne. Phihp, after his wont, raised many 
difficulties, and insisted that the Bishop of Arras 
must be present at the interview .■'■ At length all 
preliminaries were arranged, and on the ist of May 
Charles left Paris with his uncle Vaudemont and 
Guise's eldest son, Henri, Prince of Joinville, attended 
by an escort of 200 horse. The Duchess had already 
arrived at Cambray with her daughters and Anne 
of Aerschot, accompanied by Egmont, Arras, and 
a great train of courtiers, and had prepared a splendid 
reception for her son. But at the last moment fresh 
difficulties arose. The Cardinal of Lorraine sent 
Robertet, the King's secretary, to tell the Duchess 
that, although her son was most anxious to see her, 
it would be derogatory to his master's dignity for 
him to enter King Philip's territories as a suppliant 
for peace. Would Her Highness therefore consent 
to come as far as his castle at Peronne ? This Philip 
quite refused to allow, and eventually the village of 
Marcoing, halfway between Cambray and Peronne, 
was fixed upon as the meeting-place. An old manor- 
house which had been partly destroyed in the late 
military operations was hastily repaired for the 
occasion, and here, on the 15th of May, the much- 
desired meeting at length took place .^ The French- 
men, who came in riding-clothes, were amazed to find 
the splendid company awaiting them. The Duchess 
with the young Princesses, Anne of Aerschot, and the 
Princess of Macedonia, stood under a bower of leafy 
boughs, and Egmont and the other courtiers were 
all richly clad and mounted on fine horses. The 

^ Venetian Calendar, vi. 1471, 1488. ^ Granvelle, v. 168. 

28 



422 PEACE OF CATEAU-CAMBRESIS [Bk. Xll 

coming of the guests was greeted by a gay fanfare 
of trumpets and roll of drums, together with salutes 
of artillery. Then the young Duke, springing from 
his horse, rushed into his mother's arms. At the 
sight of her boy, Christina burst into tears and almost 
fainted away. For some minutes she remained 
unable to speak, and the spectators were deeply 
moved by her emotion. After repeatedly embracing 
his mother, Charles kissed his sisters and aunt, and 
proceeded to salute Egmont and the rest of the com- 
pany with charming grace ; while the happy mother 
followed his movements with delight, and could not 
take her eyes off the tall and handsome youth whom 
she had last seen as a child, and who had grown up 
the image of his father. 

During the conversation which followed, Charles 
spoke to his mother with great good sense and wisdom, 
telling her how kindly he was treated at the French 
Court, and how it would be hard for him to feel at 
home anywhere else. But directly after his marriage 
he and his wife intended to return to Nancy, where he 
hoped that his mother would join them and live among 
their own people. The Duchess and her children now 
sat down to an exquisite dejeuner with the Duchess 
of Aerschot and the Cardinal, while Egmont and Arras 
entertained Vaudemont and the Prince of Joinville, 
and the other French gentlemen dined with the 
members of Christina's suite. After dinner three 
Spanish jennets which King Philip had sent the 
young Duke were led out, and Charles mounted a 
spirited charger given him by the French monarch, 
and performed a variety of feats of horsemanship 
before the company, to his mother's great delight. 
Then the Duchess and her sister and children retired 



May, 1558] DUKE CHARLES OF LORRAINE 423 

to enjoy each other's company in private, leaving 
the Cardinal to confer with Arras and Egmont. 

The Cardinal produced the royal mandate, and 
Robertet read out Henry's proposals, offering to 
restore Savoy to the Duke, but only on condition 
of receiving Milan in exchange. All Arras would 
say in reply to these demands was that they must 
be referred to his master, upon which the Cardinal 
exclaimed with some heat that these were the 
only terms which the King of France would accept. 
" Thus," remarks the Venetian Ambassador, " this 
meeting, which began with such a beautiful outburst 
of motherly love and tenderness, ended in mutual re- 
crimination."^ The Cardinal then took leave of the 
company, after presenting the young Princesses and 
their mother with gifts of gold bracelets, rings, and 
brooches, and receiving a box of choice gloves, per- 
fumed, and embroidered in Italian fashion from the 
Duchess. As he rode back to Peronnc, he saw the 
flames of a burning village which had been destroyed 
by the Imperialists, and, in spite of his safe-conduct, 
was seized with so great a panic that he hurried back 
to Paris, fearing his chateau might be surprised 
by the foes. The young Duke and Vaudemont 
spent another day with the Duchess, and only re- 
turned to Compiegne on the i8th of May. Here 
Charles received the warmest of welcomes from the 
royal family, who had feared that he might be induced 
to remain with his mother. The King threw his 
arms round the boy's neck, the Queen and Dauphin, 
the Princesses Elizabeth and Claude and the young 
Queen of Scots, all embraced him affectionately, 
telling him how much they had missed him. In fact, 
^ Venetian Calendar, vi. 1496- 1498, 



424 PEACE OF CATEAU-CAMBRESIS [Bk. xil 

as Soranzo remarks, this short absence served to show 
how much beloved the young Prince was by the 
whole Court .^ 

Meanwhile Arras and Egmont returned to Brussels, 
satisfied that the French had no real wish for peace, 
and Philip declared his conviction that they had 
made a plot to capture the Duchess, which had only 
been defeated by the strong escort with which she 
was attended. But Christina herself was radiant 
with happiness, and received congratulations from 
all her friends. The French had done her many 
cruel wrongs, but they had not been able to rob her 
of her son's heart, and the future still held the 
promise of some golden hours. 

For a while the war still raged fiercely. The 
capture of Thionville by Guise in June was followed 
a month later by Egmont 's fresh victory at Grave- 
lines, when the Governor of Calais, De Thermes, and 
his whole force, were cut to pieces. The Count had 
always been a splendid and popular figure; now he 
was the idol of the whole nation. His brilliant feat 
of arms had saved Flanders from utter ruin, and 
made peace once more possible. Both sides were 
thoroughly weary of the long struggle, the resources 
of both countries were exhausted, and the unhappy 
inhabitants of Picardy and Artois were crying out 
for a respite from their sufferings. Christina made 
** use of the opportunity to renew her correspondence 
with the Constable and the Marshal St. Andre, his 
companion in captivity .^ A new recruit now came 
to her help in the person of William of Orange. This 
young Prince had enjoyed the favour of Charles V. 
and his sister Mary from his boyhood, and had been 
^ Venetian Calendar, vi. 1500. ^ ii)id., vi. 1528. 



June, 1558] THE PRINCE OF ORANGE 425 

treated with especial kindness by the Duchess of 
Aerschot and her sister-in-law. The death of his 
young wife, Anna, Countess Biiren, in the spring of 
1558, had thrown him much into the company of 
these ladies, and it was already whispered at Court 
that he would certainly marry Madame de Lorraine's 
elder daughter, Renee, who was growing up a tall and 
attractive maiden. The Prince himself was a hand- 
some youth with fine brown eyes and curly auburn 
locks, and a charm of manner which few could resist. 
If the cares and anxieties of his later life made him 
taciturn, in youth he was the most genial and 
pleasant of companions, and Arras, who never loved 
him, said that he " made a friend every time that 
he lifted his hat." His attire was always as faultless 
as it was splendid, he was renowned for his skill as 
a rider and jouster, and had greatly distinguished 
himself in the recent campaigns. Both in his home 
at Breda and in the stately Nassau house at Brussels 
the Prince kept open house, and the worst faults of 
which his enemies could accuse him were his reckless 
hospitality and extravagant tastes. 

Christina had always taken especial interest in 
William of Orange, for the sake of the kinsman whose 
name and wealth he inherited, and he on his part 
became deeply attached to her. So intimate was 
their friendship, that the Duchess one day told 
Count Feria's English wife, Jane Dormer, in speak- 
ing of the Prince's intended marriage with her 
daughter, that she would gladly have married him 
herself.^ 

The Prince now joined his personal exertions to 

^ Groen van Prinsterer, " Archives de la Maison d' Orange et 
de Nassau," i. i ; Kervyn de Lettenhove, ii. 257. 



426 PEACE OF CATEAU-CAMBRESIS [Bk. xil 

those of the Duchess, and was the frequent bearer of 
letters between Brussels and the camp near Amiens, 
where the two Kings and their rival armies were 
drawn up face to face. At length, on the 9th of 
September, a ten days' armistice was proclaimed, 
and a few days later the Prince of Orange, Ruy 
Gomez, and Arras, met the Constable and St. 
Andre at Lille, to discuss preliminaries of peace .^ 
The two French prisoners were eager for peace, and 
had the secret support of Henry II. and Diane 
de Poitiers; but the Guises, who had everything to 
lose and nothing to gain by the cessation of war, 
were still strongly opposed to a truce, and Renard 
told Philip that the only way of gaining their good- 
will would be to give Mademoiselle de Lorraine's 
hand to the Prince of Joinville. In the end, how- 
ever, their opposition was overruled, and on the 30th 
of September William of Orange was able to bring the 
Duchess news that a Conference had been arranged, 
and would take place at the Abbey of Cercamp, near 
Cambray, in October. He found Christina at Douai, 
where she and her daughters were attending a marriage 
in the d'Aremberg family. She had just heard of her 
son's return to Nancy, where he had been received 
with acclamation by his subjects, and where her 
own presence was eagerly expected. But at Philip's 
earnest entreaty she consented to remain in Flanders 
for the present, and preside at the coming Conference. 
This proposal was strongly supported by the Cardinal 
of Lorraine, who hastened to send the Duchess a 
safe-conduct, saying that her presence would do 
more than anything to bring the desired peace to 
perfection .2 

^ Granvelle, v. 171. 2 /ftj^.^ v. 227. 



Oct., 1558] THE CONFERENCE OF CERCAMP 427 

Christina herself was very reluctant to accept the 
post, as we learn from the following letter which she 
wrote to Philip from Douai on the 12th of October. 
Her delicate child, Dorothea, was ailing, and her 
faithful companion, the aged Princess of Macedonia, 
was hardly fit to be left alone. 

" I have received the letter which Your Majesty 
has been pleased to send me, and thank you humbly 
for your affectionate expressions. As to the in- 
convenience of the place selected for this Conference, 
I should never allow my comfort or pleasure to inter- 
fere with your commands, and will accordingly go 
to Arras to-morrow and await your further orders. 
I have been very unwell lately, and must beg Your 
Majesty to provide for my safety, not only because 
I am a woman, but because, as you know, I am not 
in the good graces of the French. My daughters 
must remain here a few days longer, as Dorothea is 
indisposed, and the Princess of Macedonia is in a 
very feeble state. I will follow Your Majesty's 
advice as to Bassompierre's mission and my son's 
affairs, and cannot thank you enough for your kind 
thought of me and my children. I kiss Your Majesty's 
hands . 

" Your very humble and obedient cousin, 

" Chretienne."^ 

Some further difficulties — chiefly the work of 
Silliers, poor Belloni's hated rival and successor — 
delayed the Duchess's journey for another week. 
On the 1 6th Arras wrote to tell her that the Com- 
missioners had already arrived at Cercamp, and beg 
her to come as soon as possible. The Cardinal was 
very anxious to see her, and hoped that she would 
not fail to bring his young cousins, " Mesdames your 
daughters," with her. Christina could delay no 
longer, and hastened to Cercamp the following day. 

^ Granvelle, v. 231. 



428 PEACE OF CATEAU-CAMBRESIS [Bk. xil 



11. 

On the 17th of October, 1558, a fortnight's truce 
was proclaimed. Both armies remained encamped 
on their own territories, while the two Kings with- 
drew respectively to Arras and Beauvais. The next 
day the Commissioners met at one o'clock in the 
Duchess's lodgings. The Prince of Orange, Alva, 
Ruy Gomez, Arras, and Viglius, the President of 
the Council, represented Philip; while the Constable, 
the Cardinal of Lorraine, St. Andre, the Bishop of 
Orleans, and Secretary I'Aubespine, were the five 
French deputies. Stroppiana represented the Duke 
of Savoy, and the English deputies, Lord Arundel, 
Dr. Wotton, and Thirlby, Bishop of Ely, arrived a few 
days later. The Duchess welcomed the Commis- 
sioners in a brief speech, explaining that, as for 
several years past she had endeavoured to make 
peace between these two illustrious monarchs, it was 
their pleasure that she should continue her good 
offices, adding that she would count herself too happy 
if her services could help to attain this blessed end, 
and relieve the people of both countries from the 
awful miseries of war.^ 

During the next fortnight conferences were held 
daily in the presence of Christina, who herself read 
aloud each different proposal that was made, and 
showed infinite tact in smoothing over difficulties and 
suggesting points of agreement. Each morning the 
deputies met at Mass in the parish church, and often 
discussed separate questions after service. In the 
evenings, private interviews took place in Christina's 

^ Granvelle, v. 266. 



Oct., 1558] PEACE NEGOTIATIONS 429 

rooms, and the Prince of Orange held long conversa- 
tions with Montmorency and the Cardinal, which 
contributed not a little to their mutual understanding. 
" Loving entertainments," in Suriano's phrase, " were 
exchanged," and one night the Duchess gave a 
banquet in honour of the Constable's wife and 
daughter, who paid a visit to Cercamp. As the 
Cardinal complained jestingly, Montmorency was too 
good a Christian and all too ready to make peace 
with his country's enemies. But King Henry sup- 
ported him secretly, and sent private notes and 
messages, telling him to take no notice of the Guises, 
and do all he could to make peace .^ 

The great difficulty which had hitherto stood in the 
way of all attempts at negotiation was the restitution 
of Savoy. The Constable now proposed that the 
Duke should marr^^^ the King's sister, Madame 
Marguerite, with a dower of 300,000 crowns, and 
be placed in possession of the chief portion of his 
dominions. At first the Duke demurred to this offer, 
and begged that the King's daughter Claude should 
be substituted for her aunt, who was five years his 
senior. But the Cardinal replied that this Princess 
was already pledged to his nephew, Charles of 
Lorraine, and laid stress on Margaret's charms and 
learning. The Duke yielded, and a long wrangle 
ensued as to the towns and citadels to be retained 
by the French. But there was a still more thorny 
question to be decided. This was the restoration of 
Calais, which the English demanded with the utmost 
pertinacity, while the French were no less determined 
to keep their conquest. The English pleaded 

^ Venetian Calendar, vi. 1537; Ruble, " Traite de Cateau- 
Cambresis," 12. 



430 PEACE OF CATEAU-CAMBRESIS [Bk. Xll 

that they had held the town during two centuries; 
the French repHed that it had been unjustly snatched 
from them in the first place. Old treaties, going 
back to the days of the Black Prince, were produced, 
and Arras and his colleagues supported the English 
claim loyally, knowing that, if Philip consented to 
abandon Calais, he would lose all hold on his wife's 
subjects. In vain Christina proposed that, as the 
marriage of the French King's elder daughter with 
the Infant Don Carlos had been agreed upon, Calais 
should form part of Elizabeth's dower. The Cardinal 
told the Duchess that the possession of the town, 
which his brother had conquered, touched his honour 
too closely for him to agree to the surrender, and 
King Henry sent word that he would rather lose 
his crown than give up Calais. So stern and in- 
tractable were the French that the only thing to be 
done was to adjourn the Conference and refer the 
matter to the two monarchs.^ 

The Constable was allowed to go to Beauvais with 
the Cardinal to consult King Henry, Alva and 
Orange went to Brussels to see Philip, and Christina 
took three days' holiday with her children at Douai. 
Before she went to Cercamp, a report of Charles V.'s 
death had reached Brussels. Now this was con- 
firmed by letters from St. Yuste, announcing that the 
great Emperor had passed away on the 21st of 
September. The sudden death of his sister Eleanor, 
seven months before, had been a great shock to him, 
and when the Queen of Hungary entered his room 
without the accustomed figure at her side he burst 
into tears. The recent events of the war, and Philip's 
difficulties in the administration of the provinces, 

^ Calendar of State Papers, Mary, Foreign, 402-404. 



Sept., 1558] DEATH OF MARY OF HUNGARY 431 

troubled him sorely, and he was very anxious for 
Mary to resume the office of Regent. When, in 
August, the Archbishop of Toledo brought a letter 
from the King, imploring the Queen to come to his 
help, Charles used all his influence to induce her 
to consent. In vain Mary pleaded her advancing 
years and failing health ; the Emperor replied that 
her refusal would bring ruin and disgrace on their 
house, and adjured her by the love of God and her 
sisterly affection to do him this last service. This 
appeal decided the noble woman. On the 9th of 
September she wrote to tell Philip that, in obedience 
to his father's orders, she would start for the Nether- 
lands as soon as possible. The knowledge of the 
Queen's decision was a great consolation to Charles 
in his last moments, and as soon as she had recovered 
from the first shock of his death she prepared to obey 
his last wish. But before she embarked at Laredo, 
a fresh attack of the heart trouble from which she 
suffered ended her life, and on St. Luke's Day she 
passed to her well-earned rest.^ 

Her death was deeply lamented throughout the 
Low Countries, where her return had been daily 
looked for, and no one mourned her loss more truly 
than the niece to whom she had been the best of 
mothers. It was with a sad heart that Christina 
came back to Cercamp to preside at the second 
session of the Conference, which opened on the 7th 
of November. Alarming accounts of their mistress's 
health now reached the English Commissioners, and 
Count Feria, whom Philip sent to London, wrote 
that the Queen's life was despaired of, and that 

^ Gachard, " Retraite," etc., i. 44-48; Venetian Calendar, 
vi. 1544. 



432 PEACE OF CATEAU-CAMBRESIS [Bk. XII 

Parliament was in great alarm lest, if she died, the 
King would cease to care for the recovery of Calais . 
But, although Arras and Alva still declared that they 
would never consent to any treaty which did not 
satisfy the English, the French remained obdurate, 
and the Commissioners were at their wits' end. The 
Bishop of Ely was in tears, and on the i8th of 
November Lord Arundel wrote home that 

" it seemed very hard that all others should have 
restitution of their owne, and poore England, that 
began not the fray, should bear the burthen and loss 
for the rest, and specially of such a jewel as Calais."^ 

The next day came the news of the Queen's death. 
The French, who, Wotton remarked, " have ears as 
long as those of Midas," were the first to inform Her 
Majesty's Envoys that their mistress had breathed 
her last, on the morning of the 17th of November* 
after sending a message to Elizabeth, recognizing 
this Princess as her successor, and begging her to 
maintain the Catholic religion. The new Queen at 
once sent Lord Cobham to announce her accession 
to Philip, and assure him of her resolve to hold fast 
the ancient friendship between England and the 
House of Burgundy. 

The news of Mary's death decided the Com- 
missioners to adjourn the Conference. The truce 
was prolonged for two months, and on the 2nd of 
December they all left Cercamp . Arundel had already 
started for England, and Wotton was longing to get 
away, saying " that he was never wearier of any 
place than he was of Cercamp, saving only of Rome 
after the sack." The Constable was set at liberty, 
and received a promise that his 200,000 crowns 

^ Kervyn de Lettenhove, i. 257. 



Dec. 1558] THE EMPEROR'S FUNERAL 433 

ransom should be reduced by half, if peace were 
finally made. Arras, Alva, and Orange, went to 
the Abbey of Groenendal to see Philip, who had 
retired to pray for his father's soul, and there re- 
ceived the tidings of his wife's death. Christina 
returned to Brussels to assist at a succession of 
funerals. On the 22nd of December a requeim for 
the Queen of England was chanted in S. Gudule, 
the Duke of Savoy acting as chief mourner in the 
King's absence, and on the following day solemn 
funeral rites for the late Queen of Hungary were 
performed in the Court chapel, which she and the 
Emperor had built and adorned. The Duchess of 
Lorraine was present at this service, together with 
the Duke of Savoy, the Prince of Orange, and all the 
chief nobles and Crown officials, while the palace 
gates were thronged with a crowd of sorrowing 
people.^ But the grandest funeral ceremonies ever 
known in Brussels were those that were celebrated 
on the 29th of December, in memory of the late 
Emperor. 

Great preparations had been made for this solem- 
nity during the last few weeks. A chapelle ardente 
was erected in S. Gudule, rising in tiers to the lofty 
roof, adorned with golden diadems and shields 
emblazoned with the dead monarch's arms and titles, 
and lighted with 3,000 candles. Here, on a couch 
draped with cloth of gold, an effigy of the Emperor 
was laid, clad in robes of state and wearing the collar 
of the Order. On the morning of the 29th a long 
procession wound its way through the narrow streets 
leading from the palace on the heights of the Cauden- 
berg to the cathedral church, and a stately pageant 
^ Venetian Calendar, vi. 1568. 



434 PEACE OF CATEAU-CAMBRESIS [Bk. kii 

unfolded the glorious story of Charles of Austria's 
deeds. A richly carved and gilded ship, drawn by 
marine monsters, bore the names of his journeys and 
battles and armorial bearings of the kingdoms over 
which he reigned, while banners of the Turks and 
of the other foes whom he had vanquished were 
plunged in the waves below, and white-robed maidens 
sat in the stern, bearing the cross and chalice, the 
symbols of the faith by which he had conquered the 
world. This imposing group was followed by a repre- 
sentation of the Pillars of Hercules with Charles's 
motto, Plus oultre, and twenty-four horses decked in 
coloured plumes and trappings to match the banners 
of his different States. Each of these pennons w^as 
borne by a noble youth, while four Princes supported 
the great standard of the Empire. Then came the 
officers of the imperial household, leading Charles's 
war-horse, and bearing his armour and insignia; the 
Prince of Orange with his master's sword, Alva 
with the orb of the world, and the Grand Commander 
of Castille with the imperial crown. Last of all King 
Philip himself appeared on foot, clad in a mourning 
mantle five yards long, and followed by the Duke of 
Savoy and a long train of Knights of the Golden Fleece, 
Councillors and Ministers, with the Archers of the 
Guard bringing up the rear. The procession left the 
palace at nine, and the funeral service, which included 
a lengthy oration by the Bishop of Arras's coadjutor, 
Abbe Richardot, was not over till five o'clock. The 
next day Philip and all his nobles attended High Mass, 
and at the end of the celebration the Prince of Orange, 
standing before the funeral pile, smote his breast 
three times, repeating the words: " He is dead, and 
will remain dead ; and there is another risen up in his 



Jan., 1559] CHARLES'S WEDDING 435 

place, greater than ever he has been." So the solemn 
function ended. 

" It was a sight worth going 100 miles to see," 
wrote Richard Clough, an English apprentice who 
had been sent by Sir Thomas Gresham from Antwerp, 
and counted himself fortunate to witness this im- 
posing ceremony. " The like of it, I think, hath 
never been seen. The Lord give his soul rest !"^ 

The Duchess of Lorraine had been anxious that 
her son should attend his great-uncle's funeral, but 
the tardy invitation which Philip sent to Nancy 
arrived too late, and the young Duke could not reach 
Brussels in time to take part in the ceremony. To 
console herself for this disappointment, Christina 
went to meet Charles at Treves on the 6th of January 
and spent two days in his company, before he returned 
to France for the wedding. His loyal subjects pre- 
sented him with a marriage gift of 200,000 crowns, 
double the amount which any Duke of Lorraine had 
received before. Charles who inherited his mother's 
lavish generosity, spent most of the money in costly 
jewels for his bride, and presented the King and 
Dauphin, Vaudemont and the Guises, with superb 
robes embroidered with the arms of Lorraine and 
lined with lynx fur. The wedding was solemnized 
at Notre Dame on the 22nd of January, with as much 
splendour as that of the Dauphin in the previous 
spring. The Guises held open house for ten days in 
their palatial abode, the " Hotel de Lorraine et de 
Sicile," near the royal palace of Les Tournelles, and 
gave a grand tournament in which the young Duke 
appeared at the head of a troop splendidly arrayed 

^ Kervyn e Lettenhove, i. 384 ; Gachard, " Voyages," iv. 
35-62. 



436 PEACE OF CATEAU-CAMBRESIS [Bk. xil 

in corslets of gold and silver, with the alerions, or 
eagles, of Lorraine on the crest of their helmets. 
Ronsard celebrated the union of the eagles of Lorraine 
and the golden lilies of France, and sang the praises 
of the " Fair Maid of Valois and her bridegroom, the 
beautiful Shepherd who feeds his flock in the green 
pastures along the banks of Meuse and Moselle."^ 

The French King and Queen had invited the 
Duchess in courteous and affectionate terms to be 
present at the wedding, but she declined on the 
plea of her deep mourning, as well as of the promise 
which she had made to preside at the Peace Con- 
ference, which was shortly to meet again .^ 

IIL 

The Commissioners who had attended the Con- 
ferences at Cercamp were unanimous in refusing to 
return to this unhealthy and inconvenient spot, and 
at the Duchess of Lorraine's suggestion the small 
town of Cateau-Cambresis, belonging to the Bishop 
of Cambray, was chosen for their next meeting- 
place. The Bishop's manor-house at Mon Soulas, 
which had been damaged in the war, was hastily 
repaired by the Duchess's fourriers, the rooms were 
furnished anew, and paper windows were inserted 
in place of the broken glass. The Bishop of Arras, 
who arrived with the Prince of Orange's servants, 
secured a decent lodging and good cook for himself 
and his colleagues in the neighbouring villas of 
Beau Regard and Mon Plaisir, while Wotton and the 
Bishop of Ely found very indifferent quarters in a 

* Calmet, ii. i, 351; Pfister, ii. 244; Venetian Calendar, vii. 
1-9, 20. 

2 Venetian Calendar, vri. 8, 10. 



Feb., 1559] AT CATEAU-CAMBRESIS 437 

ruinous house belonging to the Bishop of Cambray. 
The French complained that the accommodation was 
no better than at Cercamp, if the air was healthier, and, 
after a good deal of grumbling, fixed on two houses, 
know^n as Mon Secours and Belle Image, outside the 
gates .^ The dilapidated country-house, with its 
patched-up walls and paper windows, could hardly 
have been a pleasant residence in the cold days of 
February, but Christina made light of these discom- 
forts, and threw herself heart and soul into the 
difficult task before her. The Commissioners all 
recognized the tact and patience which she showed 
in conducting the negotiations, and the courtesy'- 
which the Ambassadors of other nationahties received 
at her hands, during the next two months. 

The French delegates were delayed by the fetes 
for the Duke of Lorraine's wedding, and did not 
reach Cateau-Cambresis until late on the evening of 
the 5th of February. On the following afternoon 
they held their first meeting with the King of Spain's 
Commissioners in the Duchess's rooms at Mon Soulas. 
They seemed very cheerful, and, the next day being 
Shrove Tuesday, were all entertained at dinner by 
the Constable. On Ash Wednesday, Mass of the 
Holy Ghost was sung in church, after which business 
began in earnest, and various points regarding the 
Duke of Savoy's marriage were decided. The next 
evening Lord William Howard, who had been made 
Lord Chamberlain by the new Queen, and advanced 
to the peerage with the title of Lord Howard of 
Effingham, arrived from England. He was received 
with great civility by Alva and his colleagues, and 
conducted by the Prince of Orange to salute the 

^ Granvelle, v. 420-426; Kervyn de Lettenhove, i. 420. 

29 



438 PEACE OF CATEAU-CAMBRESIS [Bk. xil 

Duchess. Christina welcomed him graciously, asked 
after Queen Elizabeth with great interest, and kept 
him talking of England " for a pretty while " in the 
most friendly manner. 

" This assembly," wrote Howard to his mistress, 
" hath been entirely procured by the Duchess's 
labour and travail; and she being a Princess not 
subject to the King of Spain or France, the Com- 
missioners are content to use her as one that is in- 
different betwixt all parties, and she is continually 
present at all meetings and communications."^ 

But the Frenchmen, Lord Howard complained, 
behaved in a very strange fashion, and quite refused 
to meet him and his colleagues if they persisted in 
their demand for Calais, pretending that this question 
had been finally settled at Cercamp. At Christina's 
entreaty, however, the Cardinal consented to an 
interview, and at one o'clock on Saturday, the nth of 
February, the whole body of Commissioners met at 
Mon Soulas. The Duchess sat at the head of the 
table, the English on her right, the French deputies 
opposite, and Alva and his companions at the other 
end . A long wrangle followed ; all the old arguments 
were revived, and the Cardinal, as Howard noticed, 
did his best to stir up a quarrel between the English 
and the King of Spain's servants. After the meeting 
broke up, the members stood about in little knots, 
conversing amicably with each other and the Duchess. 
On Sunday the Constable had a long private inter- 
view with Howard, and, as the latter afterwards dis- 
covered, caught Alva and Stroppiana as they left 
church, and tried to induce them to abandon the 
English. But Philip's servants stood loyally by their 

* Kervyn de Lettenhove, i. 422, 444. 



Feb., 1559] ANGRY DISCUSSIONS 439 

allies, and the Prince of Orange and Alva discussed 
the matter with Howard until a late hour. During 
the next two days the debate was continued with 
ever-increasing acrimony, until on Tuesday after- 
noon Howard broke into so violent a passion that 
the Cardinal and his friends rose and walked out of 
the house, saying that it was impossible to argue with 
such people. As Arras remarked shrewdly: "The 
French are better advocates of a bad cause than the 
English are of a good one."^ 

Presently a page brought the Duchess word that 
the French Commissioners had ordered their horses, 
and were preparing to pack up and leave. Upon this 
Christina followed them into the garden, and by dint 
of much persuasion prevailed upon the Cardinal to 
listen to her suggestion that Calais should remain for 
eight years in the hands of the French, and that a 
yearly sum should be paid to Queen Elizabeth as a 
security for its ultimate surrender. Meanwhile the 
outer world was becoming very impatient. Philip 
wrote to the Prince of Orange, saying that he could 
get no more supplies from Spain, and that the greatest 
service he could do him would be to obtain peace at 
any cost ; and Henry sent an autograph letter to the 
Constable, complaining of the Guises' opposition, 
ending with the words : " Never mind what these men 
say; let them talk as they please, but make peace if 
possible !" It was accordingly decided to refer the 
Duchess's proposal to Queen Elizabeth and her 
Council, while the Constable went to consult the 
French King at Villers-Cotterets.^ 

* Granvelle, v. 454. 

2 Ruble, " Traite de Cdteau-Cambresis," 23; Venetian Cal- 
endar, vii. 39; Granvelle, v. 495. 



440 PEACE OF CATEAU-CAMBRESIS [Bk. xil 

Late this same evening the Duke of Lorraine 
arrived from Court, with two of the Guise Princes, 
the Grand Prior of Malta, and the Marquis of Elboeuf, 
and was met by the Prince of Orange, and taken to 
Mon Soulas. The Duchess was overjoyed to see her 
son, and the next three days were devoted to hunting- 
parties. Howard was invited to join in one of these, 
and he and the Prince of Orange accompanied Chris- 
tina and Margaret of Aremberg out hunting. As they 
rode home together, the ladies began to talk of 
Queen Elizabeth, and Christina expressed her wish 
that she would marry the King of Spain. 

" Why ?" returned Howard. " What should my 
mistress doe with a husband that should be ever 
from her and never with her ? Is that the way to 
get what we desire most — that is, children ? I think 
not." 

At this both the Duchess and Madame d 'Aremberg 
laughed, and Christina, remembering her unlucky 
experiences at the English Court, observed that the 
late Queen was too old to bear children, and had not 
the art of winning her husband's affections. Howard 
was entirely of the same opinion, but assured her that 
whoever the present Queen chose to marry, " would 
be honoured and served to the death by every one of 
her subjects, and all the more so if he make much of 
his wife." ^ This conversation was duly reported to 
Elizabeth by Howard, who begged his royal mistress to 
forgive his boldness, and not impute it to him as folly. 
All the world knew that Philip was paying assiduous 
court to his sister-in-law, and Christina's remarks 
were no doubt prompted by the wish to do him a 
good turn. But three weeks after this conversation 

^ Kervyn de Lettenhove, i. 457. 



Feb., 1559] ROYAL INTERVIEWS 44i 

the Queen told Count Feria that she was determined 
to restore the Church of the land to what it was in 
her father's time, and that, being a heretic, she could 
not become his master's wife> 

Christina had long sought an opportunity of 
presenting her son to the King, and at her request 
Philip agreed to come to Binche for hunting, and 
meet the Duke at Mons. On the 22nd of Febru- 
ary, the Duchess and her son, accompanied by 
Madame d'Aremberg, the Prince of Orange, and 
the Guise Princes, rode to Mons, where they 
were hospitably entertained by the Duke of 
Aerschot, and received a visit from the King, who 
came over on St. Matthias's Feast from Binche to 
spend the day with his cousins. He showed himself 
unusually amiable to the young Duke, and delighted 
the boy with the gift of a richly carved and jewelled 
sword, in memory of the great Emperor, whose 
birthday fell on this day. On the 25th, Marguerite 
d'Aremberg wrote to inform Arras that the Duchess 
hoped to be back in a few days, and thanked 

" him for having her hall put in order, promising 
the Bishop that, if he were seized with a wish to 
dance when the ladies from the French Court arrived, 
he should have the best place." ^ 

Three days afterwards Christina returned to Mon 
Soulas, bringing both her daughters to meet their 
brother's wife, who was expected in a few days. The 
conferences were resumed on the 2nd of March, but 
there seemed little prospect of a settlement. The 
Cardinal made more difficulties than ever, and even 
ventured to question Queen Elizabeth's right to the 

^ Kervyn de Lettenhove, i. 475. 
2 Granvelle, v. 487, 495, 502. 



442 PEACE OF CATEAU-CAMBRESIS [Bk. xil 

crown, saying that she was a bastard, and Mary, 
Queen of Scots was the true Queen of England. Here 
Christina intervened once more, and succeeded in 
soothing down her irascible kinsman. But the 
leading part taken by the Duchess in these debates 
annoyed Arras seriously. He blamed her for playing 
into the hands of the French, and complained to the 
Duke of Savoy that there were too many ladies at 
Mon Soulas, and that their absence would be of more 
advantage than their presence. This last remark 
was aimed at the 3^oung Duchess of Lorraine, who, 
on the 5 th of March arrived from Court with the 
Duchess of Guise, Anna d' Este, and a numerous 
suite of ladies. An innocent, simple girl, devoted to 
her young husband, Claude responded warmly to the 
affectionate welcome which she received from her 
mother-in-law and sisters; and Christina thus sur- 
rounded by her children, declared herself to be the 
happiest of mothers. Everyone, as Arras complained, 
was given up to amusement. Lord Howard went 
out hunting with his old friend the Constable, and 
the Prince of Orange and the Cardinal spent their 
evenings with the Duchess and her joyous family 
circle.-^ 

On Saturday, the 12th of March, there was another 
stormy meeting in the Duchess's rooms. This time 
the French and Spanish Commissioners quarrelled 
violently, and Alva and Arras left the room in anger, 
declaring they had been fooled, and retired to their 
own lodgings. In a private letter to the Duke of 
Savoy, the Bishop complained bitterly of the French- 
men's insolence, saying that nothing could be " done 
with such people by fair means, and the only way 

^ Venetian Calendar, vii. 54; Granvelle, v. 520, 525. 



March, 1559] THE CALAIS QUESTION 443 

was to show your teeth." ^ The next afternoon, how- 
ever, at the Duchess's earnest entreaty, he and Alva 
returned to the Conference. This time the Cardinal 
was in a more amiable mood, and the terms originally 
proposed by Christina were accepted by all parties. 
Calais was to remain in the hands of France for eight 
years, and hostages were to be given for the payment 
of a yearly ransom of 500,000 crowns. There was 
great rejoicing at this agreement, and the young 
Duchess and her ladies returned to Court on the 
19th of March, full of the goodness and generosity 
of the Duke's mother, who loaded them with costly 
presents, and gave her daughter-in-law the magnifi- 
cent jewelled necklace which had been the Emperor's 
wedding gift on her marriage to the Duke of Milan. 
Christina herself was now so convinced of the cer- 
tainty of peace that she begged her son to delay his 
departure a few more days, in order that he might 
take the good news to the Most Christian King. The 
end of the Conference seemed really in sight, and 
Loid Howard wrote to inform Queen Elizabeth of 
the treaty regarding Calais, only to receive a sound 
rating from his mistress for having dared to allow 
the French and Spaniards to call her title in question .^ 



IV. 

The question of Calais having been settled, the 
French and Spanish Commissioners met again on 
the 13th of March, and conferred for six hours on 
their own affairs. The Duke of Savoy's marriage 
treaty was the chief point under discussion . Madame 
Marguerite's own eagerness for the union was well 

^ Granvelle, v. 529. ^ jCervyn de Lettenhove, i. 460. 



444 PEACE OF CATEAU-CAMBRESIS [Bk. Xll 

known. She had repeatedly asked her friend the 
Constable to press the matter, and on the 25th of 
March she sent her mattre d'hotel, Monsieur de 
I'Hopital, to Cateau-Cambresis to sign the contract 
on her behalf. The Duke's original reluctance had 
been overcome, and he sent Margaret word through 
a friend that she must not think him ill-disposed 
towards her, but that, on the contrary, he counted 
himself fortunate to win so noble and accomplished 
a bride, adding, with a touch of irony : 

" I believe that the fate with which you have 
often threatened me is really in store for me, and 
that I shall submit to be governed by a woman whom 
I shall try to please."^ 

But there still remained some troublesome details to 
arrange. All through Holy Week, Christina stayed 
at her post, while the French and Spanish delegates 
wrangled over the citadels to be given up by Henry 
and Philip respectively. On Maundy Thursday a 
sharp contest arose between Ruy Gomez and the Car- 
dinal on this point. Both parties left the room angrily, 
and a complete rupture seemed imminent. 

** They fell suddenly to such a disagreement," 
WTote Howard, " that they all rose up, determined 
to break off and depart home the next morning, being 
Good Friday." 2 

The Cardinal ordered his rooms to be dismantled 
and his beds and hangings packed, and on Good 
Friday morning he and his colleagues had already 
put on their riding-boots, when Christina appeared 
at the door and made a last appeal. 

^ V. de St. Genis, " Histoire de Savoie," iii. 181. 
2 Kervyn de Lettenhove, i. 485. 



April, 1559] CHRISTINA'S EFFORTS 445 

" The Duchess," wrote the Venetian Tiepolo, " re- 
gardless of personal fatigue, went to and fro between 
the Commissioners, with the greatest zeal, ardour, 
and charity, imploring them to come together 
again." ^ 

Seven years before, on another Good Friday, in 
her own palace, Christina had knelt in an agony of 
grief at the King of France's feet, asking to be 
allowed to keep her only son. To-day she pleaded 
with tears and prayers, in the name of the same Christ 
who died on the cross, for the suffering thousands 
who were sighing for peace. This time her prayer 
was heard. The Cardinal was induced to meet the 
Spanish delegates once more, and, after a conference 
which lasted over seven hours, it was decided that 
King Philip should keep Asti and Vercelli, and 
surrender all the other citadels which he held in Savoy. 
Ruy Gomez hastened to the Abbey of Groenendal to 
obtain his master's consent to this plan, and, to the 
amazement of the whole Court, the Cardinal appeared 
suddenly at La Ferte Milon, at dinner-time on Easter 
Day. Happily, there was little difficulty in arrangmg 
matters. Madame Marguerite told her brother plainly 
that he ought not to let her marry the Duke, if he 
treated him with suspicion, and Henry bade her be 
of good cheer, for all would be well.^ 

On Easter Tuesday the Commissioners held another 
meeting at Mon Soulas, and by the following even- 
ing the terms of the treaty were finally arranged. The 
Cardinal embraced the young Princesses of Lorraine, 
and the Duke bade his mother farewell, and rode off 
as fast as his horse could take him to bear the good 

^ Venetian Calendar, vii. 56; J. F. Le Petit, " Grande Chronique 
de Hollande," ii. 20. 

2 Venetian Calendar, vii. 57 



446 PEACE OF CATEAU-CAMBRESIS [Bk. Xll 

news to the French King. All the Commissioners 
attended a solemn Te Deum in the church, and bon- 
fires were lighted in the town. " Thanks be to God !" 
wrote the Constable to his nephew, Coligny: "Peace 
is made, and Madame Marguerite is married."^ One 
point still awaited settlement. The Princess Eliza- 
beth's hand had been originally offered to Don 
Carlos, but the Constable brought back word that 
Henry would greatly prefer his daughter to wed King 
Philip himself. The plan had already been mooted 
at an earlier stage of the Conference, but it was not 
until Philip saw that there was no hope of marrying 
the Queen of England that he consented to wed the 
French Princess. On the 2nd of April, when the 
articles of the treaty were being drafted, the Con- 
stable made a formal proposal from his master to 
the Duchess, who, after a few words with Arras and 
Ruy Gomez, graciously informed him that King 
Philip was pleased to accept his royal brother's offer .^ 

" It seems a bold step," wrote Tiepolo, " for the 
Catholic King to take to wife the daughter of the 
Most Christian King, who had been already promised 
to his son, especially as marriage negotiations with 
the Queen of England are still pending. But, seeing 
how this Queen has already alienated herself from the 
Church, he has easily allowed himself to be brought 
over to this plan, which will establish peace more 
effectually, and will no doubt please the French, 
who are above all anxious to keep him from marrying 
the Queen of England."^ 

On the next morning the Commissioners met for 
the last time, and signed the treaty, after which they 
heard Mass and all dined with the Duchess, who 

^ Ruble, 26; Venetian Calendar, vii. 67, 77. 

2 Granvelle, v. 577. ^ Venetian Calendar, vii. 62. 



April, 1559] CONCLUSION OF PEACE 447 

received the thanks and congratulations of the whole 
body. Then they went their several ways, rejoic- 
ing, in Arras's words, " to escape from purgatory." 
Howard and his colleagues hastened home to make 
their peace with the offended Queen. In spite of 
her affected indifference, Elizabeth was by no means 
gratified to hear of PhiUp's marriage. " So your 
master is going to be married," she said with a smile 
to Cou];it Feria. " What a fortunate man he is !" 
Presently she heaved a little sigh, and said: " But he 
could hardly have been as much in love with me as 
you supposed, since he could not await my answer a 
few months."^ 

Before leaving Cateau-Cambresis, Christina sent 
letters of congratulation to the French King and 
Queen and to Madame Marguerite, expressing her 
joy at the conclusion of the treaty, and the pleasure 
which she had received from her son's presence. To 
Henry II. she wrote: 

" It has pleased God to set the seal on all the jo^'- 
and content which I have experienced here — chiefly 
owing to Your Majesty's kindness in allowing me 
to see my son, and, after that, Madame your daughter 
and her company — by bringing those long-drawn 
negotiations to a good end, and concluding, not 
only a lasting peace, but also the marriage of the 
Catholic King with Madame Elizabeth. For all of 
which I thank God, and assure Your Majesty that 
I feel the utmost satisfaction in having been able to 
bring about so excellent an arrangement, and one which 
cannot fail to prove a great boon to Christendom." 

In her letter to Catherine, Christina dwells chiefly 
on her gratitude to the Queen and her daughter for 
allowing her to keep her son so long. 

^ Calendar of Spanish State Papers, i. 49, Archives of Siman- 
cas; Kervyn de Lettenhove, i. 494. 



448 PEACE OF CAtEAU-CAMBR:I^SIS [Bk. xil 

" I thank you, Madame," she writes, " very humbly 
for your kind interest in our son, who is very well, 
thank God, and I hope that the pleasure of seeing 
you will prevent him from feeling the fatigues of the 
journey. And I am greatly obliged to Your Majesty 
and our daughter for having lent him to me so long. 
I praise God that our negotiations have ended so 
happily, and that these two great monarchs will hence- 
forth not only be friends, but closely allied by the 
marriage of the Catholic King and Madame Elizabeth, 
which, as you will hear, was frankly and joyfully 
arranged after all the other articles of the treaty had 
been drawn up. I rejoice personally to think that by 
this happy arrangement I shall often have the pleasure 
of seeing your Majesties, our daughter, and my son, 
and take this opportunity of wishing you joy on this 
auspicious event, hoping that in future you will not 
fail to make use of me as of one who is ever ready to 
do you service."^ 

The Duchess now returned to Brussels with her 
daughters and the Prince of Orange. All the towns 
and villages through which she passed were hung with 
flags and garlands of flowers, and her coming was 
hailed with shouts of joy. The prison doors were 
thrown open, and the poor French soldiers, who had 
languished in captivity for years, called down blessings 
on her head.^ When she reached Brussels, the 
King himself rode out to meet her, at the head of 
his nobles, while courtiers and ladies flocked from all 
parts to welcome her return and offer their congratula- 
tions on the triumphant success of her labours. For 
Christina it was a great and m.emorable day. The 
bitterness of past memories was blotted out, and peace 
and good-will seemed to have come back to earth. 

At Whitsuntide the Treaty was ratified . The Duke 
of Lorraine came to Brussels with the Cardinals of 

^ Granvelle, v. 582, 583. 2 Venetian Calendar, vii. 64. 



May, 1559] REJOICINGS AT BRUSSELS 449 

Lorraine and Guise and the Constable, and spent a 
fortnight with his mother. They were present in the 
Court chapel, with Cardinals and Princes, when the 
King, laying his hand on a relic of the True Cross, 
took a solemn oath to keep the articles of the 
Treaty. And Christina occupied the place of honour 
at Philip's right hand at the state banquet in the 
great hall, while her son and daughters and the 
Duchess of Aerschot were all at table .^ The King 
gave the Cardinal of Lorraine a service of gold plate 
and a w^onderful ship of rock-crystal studded with 
gems, and bestowed similar presents on the Constable ; 
while the Marshal St. Andre, being a poor man 
was excused his ransom. They all left Flanders on the 
following Sunday, except the Duke of Lorraine, who 
remained another week with his mother. Before he 
left Brussels, letters from Denmark were received, con- 
firming a report which had already reached the Court 
of his grandfather King Christian II. 's death. The 
old King had died in the Castle of Kallundborg, after 
forty-five years of captivity, on the 25th of January, 
1 5 59, at the ripe age of seventy-seven. He was buried 
with his parents in the Franciscan church at Odensee, 
and Duke Adolf of Holstein followed his kinsman's 
remains to their last resting-place. When her son 
left Brussels, Christina put her household into mourn- 
ing, and retired to the Convent of La Cambre to spend 
a month in retreat. After the strain and stress of the 
last six months, she felt the need of rest sorely, and 
the shelter of convent walls was grateful to her tired 
soul.^ 

1 Gachard, iv. 67; Venetian Calendar, vii. 87-go. 

2 Schafer, iv. 445. 



BOOK XIII 

THE RETURN TO LORRAINE 

1559— 1578 

L 

During the last year the Duke of Savoy had re- 
peatedly begged to be relieved of his post as the 
King's Lieutenant in the Low Countries. By the 
Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis he recovered his dominions , 
and set out on the 1 5th of June for Paris with a great 
train of gentlemen and servants, to celebrate his 
marriage with King Henry's sister. At the same 
time, the death of the Emperor made Philip's return 
to Spain necessary. The appointment of a new 
Regent of the Netherlands became imperative, and 
everyone expected the Duchess of Lorraine would be 
chosen to fill the vacant office. A Habsburg by birth, 
she inherited the capacity for governing which dis- 
tinguished the women of her house, and had proved 
her fitness for the post by the wisdom with which she 
administered her son's State during seven years. Her 
popularity with all classes of people in the Netherlands 
was an additional advantage, and when, in the summer 
of 1558, it had been doubtful if Mary of Hungarj^ 
would consent to return, the Duchess was the first 
person whose name was suggested. The Venetian 
Suriano remarked that the only doubt as to her fitness 

450 



May, 1559] THE NETHERLANDS REGENCY 451 

for the office was that she hardly possessed her aunt's 
extraordinary vigour and energy.^ But these doubts 
had been dispelled by the admirable manner in which 
she had conducted the negotiations at the recent 
Conference and the immense credit which she had ac- 
quired on all sides. Unfortunately, she had made an 
enemy of the Bishop of Arras, and excited his jealousy 
by her private consultations with the Cardinal and 
Constable, and still more by her friendship with the 
Prince of Orange. Both Orange and Egmont disliked 
the Bishop almost as much as they hated the King's 
Spanish favourites, and lost no opportunity of showing 
their contempt for the " meddling priest," as they 
called Philip's confidential counsellor. And both of 
these proud nobles, seeing no hope of themselves 
obtaining the Regency, supported the Duchess's 
claims strongly.^ But the very popularity which 
Christina enjoyed, the acclamations which greeted 
her return from Cateau-Cambresis, had the effect of 
arousing Philip's jealousy. He lent a willing ear to 
Arras and Alva when they spoke scornfully of the 
Duchess's French connection and of the influence 
which the Prince of Orange would gain by his mar- 
riage with her daughter. Then, in an evil hour both 
for himself and the Netherlands, the Bishop suggested 
the name of the Duchess of Parma. Margaret was 
closely related to the King, and would be far more 
pliable and ready to follow his counsels than Christina. 
Philip liked his sister, and shared the Spaniards' 
jealousy of the great Flemish nobles, more espe- 
cially of the Prince of Orange, whose intimacy 

* Venetian Calendar, vi. 1533. 

2 T. Juste, "Philippe II.," 209; Gachard, " Correspondance de 
Guillaume d'Orange," i. 431; Granvelle, v. 628. 



452 THE RETURN TO LORRAINE [Bk. XIII 

with Christina he regarded with growing suspicion. 
His mind was soon made up, and when the French 
Commissioners came to Brussels in May, the appoint- 
ment of the Duchess of Parma to be Governess of 
the Low Countries was pubHcly proclaimed.^ 

The announcement was the signal for an outburst 
of popular discontent. Orange and Egmont pro- 
tested loudly at this affront to the Duchess of Lor- 
raine, and complained of the indignity offered to the 
nation by giving them a ruler of illegitimate birth, 
whose interests and connections were all foreign, and 
whose husband had actually borne arms against the 
late Emperor. 

" There is great discontent here," wrote Tiepolo, 
" at the Duchess of Parma's appointment. The 
common folk use very insolent language, and say 
that if a woman is to reign over them they would far 
rather have the Duchess of Lorraine, whom they 
know and love and hold to be one of themselves. 
Every one, indeed, would have greatly preferred this 
Princess, who is of royal lineage on both sides, and has 
long dw^elt in these provinces, besides being far more 
gracious and affable to the nobles." ^ 

To Christina herself the blow was heavy. She had 
suffered many trials and disappointments at her 
enemies' hands, but had never expected to be treated 
with such ingratitude by the King, who had always 
professed so much affection for his cousin, and was so 
deeply indebted to her. 

" The Duchess of Lorraine," wrote Tiepolo, " feels 
the injustice of the King's decision more deeply than 
any of her past adversities, and naturally thinks that, 
after her long and indefatigable exertions in nego- 
tiating this peace, taking part in every Conference 

^ T. Juste, 206; Venetian Calendar, vii. 83. 
2 Venetian Calendar, vii. 83. 



June, 1559] CHRISTINA'S DISAPPOINTMENT 453 

and adjusting every dispute, she deserved to be treated 
with greater regard. Everyone here admits that 
peace was concluded chiefly owing to her wisdom and 
efforts, and this is all the reward which she has 
received."^ 

It is scarcely to be wondered at if Christina never 
wholly forgave Philip for the cruel wrong which he 
had done her, and if in all her future correspondence 
with him we trace a strain of reproachful bitterness. 
Her resolve to leave the Netherlands was now fixed. 
She could not bear to see another Regent at Brussels, 
and was not even sure if she cared to live as a subject 
at her son's Court. Her thoughts turned once more 
to Italy, and, since the Castles of Tortona and 
Vigevano were not available, she addressed a petition 
to Philip through her Italian secretary, asking him to 
give her the duchy of Bari in Calabria. This princi- 
pality, once the property of Lodovico Sforza, had been 
lately bequeathed to Philip by the late Queen Bona 
of Poland, on condition that he would discharge a 
considerable debt owing to her son. King Sigismund. 
The beauty and salubrity of the spot, as well as its 
association with the Sforzas, probably prompted 
Christina's request, which ran as follows: 

" The Duchess of Lorraine in all humility begs Your 
Majesty, in consideration of her close relationship and 
of the great affection which she bore the late Emperor, 
and of the services which she has rendered both to 
His Majesty of blessed memory and to yourself, to do 
her the favour of granting her and her children the 
duchy of Bari, with the same revenues and indepen- 
dent liberties as were enjoyed by the Queen of Poland. 
She will undertake to pay the King of Poland the sum 
of 100,000 crowns due to him, and humbly begs Your 
Majesty to grant her half of this amount in ready 

^ Venetian Calendar, vii. 83. 

30 



454 THE RETURN TO LORRAINE [Bk. Xlll 

money, the other half in bills on merchants' houses, 
in order that she may be able to pay the creditors who 
annoy her daily. Her revenues for the next year are 
already mortgaged, owing to the necessity laid upon 
her of supporting her daughters, during the last seven 
years, and the repeated journeys which she has under- 
taken to England, and across the French frontier to 
treat of peace, all of which have involved her in great 
and heavy expenses. ..." 

Here the petition breaks off abruptly, the rest of 
the page being torn off; but we see by Philip's reply 
that it contained a bitter complaint of the injustice 
which he had done Christina by refusing to make 
her Regent. He wrote to Arras, desiring him to see 
that the Duchess ceased to repeat these perpetual 
recriminations on the subject of the Regency, which 
were as derogatory to her dignity as they were injurious 
to his interests. He regretted that his own pressing 
needs made it impossible for him to do as much as he 
should wish to help her. At the same time he said 
that, besides the revenue of 4,000 crowns which he 
had already offered her, and which she had neither 
refused nor accepted, he was ready to give her 
another yearly allowance of 10,000 crowns, to be 
charged on Naples and Milan, pointing out that she 
could raise money on this income to satisfy her 
creditors. 

" The sincere affection which the King has always 
felt for the Duchess, and the closeness of their relation- 
ship," added the writer, " impels him to advise her to 
retire to her dower lands of Lorraine and live near her 
son, in order that she may foster the loyalty and devo- 
tion which this young Prince owes her, and give him 
advice and help that may conduce to his welfare and 
that of the House of Lorraine. Any other action on 
her part, the King is convinced, will only excite 
public suspicion and slander. If, however, the 



June, 1559] WILLIAM OF ORANGE 455 

Duchess prefers to live in the kingdom of Naples, the 
King is ready to offer her the town of Lecce, the most 
important next to the capital, where she can enjoy 
all the comforts and amenities of Italian life, together 
with the respect due to her exalted birth and rank."^ 

This offer, however, did not commend itself to 
Christina. In spite of its ancient castle and beautiful 
situation, Lecce was not an independent principality, 
and had no connection with her family. She replied 
curtly that she would follow His Majesty's advice and 
return to Lorraine, as soon as her creditors were satis- 
fied and her affairs sufficiently arranged for her to 
leave the Netherlands with honour. Upon this, 
Philip sent the Duchess a sum of 21,000 crowns to 
defray the expenses of her journeys, and a further 
substantial advance on the additional revenues which 
he had assigned her.^ 

But while he was outwardly endeavouring to atone 
for one act of injustice, he was secretly doing the 
Duchess another and a more serious injury. The 
marriage of the Prince of Orange with her daughter 
Renee had been practically arranged at Cateau- 
Cambresis, but some difficulties had arisen regarding 
the settlements already made by the Prince on his 
two children by his first marriage, and the heavy 
debts which he had incurred by his extravagance, 
amounting, it was said, to 900,000 crowns. Up to 
this time Philip had openly encouraged the Prince's 
suit, but both he and Arras looked with alarm on a 
marriage that would make Orange more powerful and 
more dangerous than he was already, and were secretly 
plotting against its conclusion. One day, when Philip 
was walking in the park at Brussels with the Prince, 

* Granvelle, v. 625-627. 2 Venetian Calendar, vii. 112. 



456 THE RETURN TO LORRAINE [Bk. xiil 

he told him how much he regretted to find that 
Madame de Lorraine was strongly opposed to his 
marriage with her daughter, and had begged him to 
inform the Prince that she must decline to proceed 
further with the matter. The King added, in a 
friendly way, that he had told him this in order that 
he might look about for another wife while he was 
still young. The Prince was naturally much annoyed 
at this unexpected communication, and replied 
proudly that, if this were the case, he would promptly 
seek another alliance in Germany, where he had 
already received several offers of marriage. He was 
deeply wounded, not without reason, and went off to 
Paris a few days later, with Egmont and Alva, to 
remain there as hostages until the conditions of the 
treaty had been fulfilled. It was not until many 
months afterwards that he discovered how he had 
been duped. Christina meanwhile remained in her 
convent retreat, unconscious of what was happening 
in her absence, and heard with some surprise that the 
Prince of Orange had left Court without informing 
her of his departure. 

All eyes were now turned to the Palais des Tour- 
nelles in Paris, where the Catholic King's marriage to 
Elizabeth of France, and that of the Duke of Savoy 
to Margaret, were about to be celebrated. Alva 
represented his master at the wedding, which was 
solemnized at Notre Dame on the 22nd of June, and 
his old enemy Guise proclaimed the new Queen's 
titles at the church doors, and flung handfuls of gold 
to the applauding crowds. But their joy was soon 
changed into mourning. King Henry was mortally 
wounded by a splintered lance in the tournament that 
followed, and, after lingering for ten days, breathed 




WILLIAM, PRINCE OF ORANGE, ^TAT 26 
By Adriaan Key (Darmstadt) 



To face p. 456. 



July. 1559] MARGARET OF PARMA REGENT 457 

his last on the loth of July, two days after the mar- 
riage of his sister and the Duke of Savoy had been 
quietly solemnized in the neighbouring church of 
St. Paul. 

The news of his father-in-law's death reached Philip 
at Ghent, where he was preparing for his departure. 
Here Christina joined him on the 19th, and was greeted 
with the liveliest demonstrations of affection from 
both Court and people. Before leaving Brussels, she 
saw an English gentleman, who was on his way 
to Italy, and brought her a pressing invitation 
from Queen Elizabeth to pay a visit to England.^ 
Elizabeth had evidently not forgotten the Duchess's 
friendly intentions on her behalf when she came to 
London in Mary's reign, nor her more recent conversa- 
tion with Lord Howard. After her arrival at Ghent, 
she received frequent visits from Chaloner, the newly 
appointed Ambassador, and from the French Envoy, 
Sebastien de I'Aubespine, who had been one of the 
delegates to the Conference, and could not speak too 
highly of Madame de Lorraine's goodness and ability. 
Through him she sent affectionate messages to the 
young King Francis H. and his Scottish wife, thanking 
them in the warmest terms for their kindness to her 
son. Nor was Philip lacking in his attentions. He met 
the Duchess on her arrival, paid her daily visits, and 
seemed to fall once more under the old spell. On the 
24th he and Christina were both present at a Requiem 
for the King of France, and dined together afterwards. 
The same afternoon Philip rode out to receive the 
Duchess of Parma .^ The next day the Duke of Savoy 

^ Calendar of State Papers, Elizabeth, i. 82. 
2 Sebastien de I'Aubespine, " Negociations au Regne de 
Frangois II.," 43, 66. 



458 THE RETURN TO LORRAINE [Bk. Xlll 

returned from Paris, bringing with him the Prince of 
Orange and Egmont, who were released on parole, and 
attended the Chapter of the Fleece held by the King 
in the Church of St. John. On the 7th of August the 
States met, and the new Regent was formally pre- 
sented to them. But many voices were raised to 
protest against the powers conferred upon her, and 
the States refused to grant the aids demanded unless 
the Spanish troops were withdrawn. This act of 
audacity roused Philip's anger, and in his farewell 
interview with William of Orange he accused him of 
being the instigator of the measure. 

Before leaving Ghent, the King arranged a meeting 
between the two Duchesses in the garden of the 
Prinzenhof, and afterwards invited Christina to visit 
him at Flushing, where he spent some days before he 
embarked. They dined together for the last time 
on the 12th of August, and seem to have parted 
friends.^ Then Christina returned to Brussels to 
prepare for her own departure, and Chaloner wrote 
home: 

I heare say the Duchess of Lorraine repaireth 
shortly hence into Lorraine, smally satisfied with 
the preferment of the other, for old emulations' 
sake. "2 

During the next two months Christina had much 
to endure. She found a marked change in the Prince 
of Orange. He treated her with profound respect 
and courtesy in public, but kept aloof from her in 
private, and appeared to have transferred his atten- 
tions to Margaret of Parma. All idea of his marriage 
with Renee— " the Duchess of Lorraine's sound- 

^ Venetian Calendar, vii. iig, 121; Gachard, iv. 72. 
2 Kervyn de Lettenhove, i. 583. 



Sept., 1559] RIVALRY OF THE DUCHESSES 459 

limbed daughter," as she was called by Chaloner — 
seemed to be abandoned, and in September he left 
Court to attend the French King's coronation at Reims. 
There was a general feeling of discontent abroad. 

" The new Regent is greatly disliked," wrote John 
Leigh, an English merchant of Antwerp, " by all 
estates, who wished to have the Duchess of Lorraine 
for their ruler, and some of her own ladies have 
told her that she is a bastard, and not meet for 
the place." 

The States refused to grant the subsidies asked for, 
and the people clamoured for the removal of the 
Spaniards. The nobles showed their displeasure by 
retiring to their country-houses, and the ladies ab- 
sented themselves from Margaret's receptions to meet 
in the Duchess of Lorraine's rooms .^ This naturally 
provoked quarrels and jealousies, which, as Arras 
remarked in his letters to Philip, might easily prove 
serious. 

" Then there is rivalry between the Duchess of 
Lorraine and her of Parma," wrote the Bishop on the 
4th of October, at the end of a long tale of troubles. 
" The best way would be to keep them apart, for all 
these comings and goings can produce no good result. 
Fortunately, the former is about to go to Lorraine. 
We shall see if she leaves her daughters here, or takes 
them with her. What is certain is that, wherever 
she and her daughters may be, it will be better for 
Your Majesty's service they should be anywhere but 
here, as long as Madame de Parma remains in these 
parts, and discord prevails between her and the 
Duchess. "2 

When Arras wrote these words, Christina was al- 
ready on her way to Lorraine. Philip received a 
letter from her at Toledo, informing him of her final 

* Groen, i. 49; Kervyn de Lettenhove, ii. 8; Venetian Calendar, 
vii. 112. 2 Groen, i. 35; Granvelle, v. 652. 



46o THE RETURN TO LORRAINE [Bk. xiil 

departure, and wrote to tell Arras that all strife 
between the Duchesses was now at an end.^ In the 
same month a marriage was arranged between 
William of Orange and Anna of Saxony, the Elector 
Maurice's daughter. Arras was greatly alarmed 
when he heard of this alliance with a Protestant Prin- 
cess, and used all his powers of persuasion to induce 
the Prince to return to his old suit and marry Made- 
moiselle de Lorraine. But it was too late. The 
Prince knew that the Duchess would never forgive 
the studied neglect with which he had treated her, 
and, as he told the Bishop, his word was already 
pledged. A year later he married the Saxon Princess, 
but lived to repent of this ill-assorted union, and to 
reahze that he had been the dupe of Philip and his 
astute Minister .2 



II. 

Christina's return to Lorraine took place at an 
eventful moment. The death of Henry II. and the 
accession of Francis II. placed the supreme power in 
the hands of the Guise brothers. As the saying ran, 
** So many Guise Princes, so many Kings of France." 
The elder branch of the House of Lorraine shared in 
the triumphs of the younger. The reigning Duke, 
Charles, had grown up with the young King and 
Queen, and was tenderly beloved by them. Francis 
could not bear his brother-in-law to be absent from 
his side, and after his coronation at Reims, on the 
1 8th of September, he and Mary accompanied the 
Duke and Duchess on a progress through Lorraine. 

* Granvelle, v. 672, vi. 29. 

^ Groen, i. 49, 52; " Correspondance de Granvelle," iii. 529. 



Oct., 1559] MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS 461 

The festival of the Order of St. Michel was held at 
Bar, where Charles kept open house for a week, and 
his aunt, Anne of Aerschot, came to join the family 
party and meet the daughter of her old companion, 
Mary of Guise. The charms of the young Queen won 
all hearts in her mother's native Lorraine, and 
Francis indulged his passion for sport in the forests 
of Nomeny and Esclaron.^ 

Here, at this favourite hunting-lodge of the Guises, 
the royal party were joined by the Duke's mother. 
Christina reached Esclaron on the nth of October, 
and was received with every mark of respect and 
affection. At first, if Brantome is to be believed, 
the Duchess - mother was inclined to stand on her 
dignity, and refused to yield precedence to the youth- 
ful Queen; but Mary's grace and sweetness soon dis- 
pelled all rivalry, and Christina became the best of 
friends with both the King and Queen. General 
regret was expressed at the absence of the young 
Princesses, whom their mother had left at Brussels ; 
but Christina was aware of the Cardinal's anxiety to 
arrange a marriage between Renee and the Prince of 
Joinville, and had no intention of consenting to this 
arrangement. 

" She left her daughters behind her," wrote Throck- 
morton, the English Ambassador, " because she is 
unwilling to satisfy the hopes of the House of Guise, 
and makes not so great an account of their advances 
as to leave the old friendship of King Phihp and 
his countries. The French, in fact," he adds, " are 
doing all they can to make the Duchess Dowager a 
good Frenchwoman, but they will not find it as easy 
as they think." ^ 

* Calmet, ii. 1552; Pfister, ii. 246; Calendar of State Papers, 
Elizabeth, i. 562. 

2 Calendar of State Papers, Elizabeth, Foreign, ii. 55. 



462 THE RETURN TO LORRAINE [Bk. xiil 

At the end of the week Christina went on to Nancy 
with her son and daughter-in-law, leaving the King 
and Queen to proceed to Joinville, where Mary was 
anxious to see her beloved grandmother. She had 
already appointed Antoinette and her three daughters- 
in-law to be her ladies-in-waiting, and, as a further 
proof of affection, had given her grandmother the 
present which she received from the city of Paris on 
her state entry. From Blois, where the royal pair 
spent the autumn and winter, Francis II. sent his 
brother-in-law the following letter, which throws a 
pleasant light on the happy relations existing between 
the two families : 

" My dear Brother, 

" I am longing for news of you and ray sister, 
and have not heard from either of you since you 
reached Nancy. Next week I take my sister, the 
Catholic Queen, to Chatelherault on her way to Spain, 
after which I shall return to Blois, and not move 
again before Easter. As you may imagine, I cannot 
be in this house without missing you very much. I 
shall await your return with the utmost impatience, 
and wish you were here to enjoy the fine rides which 
I have made in my forest. I must thank you for 
the good cheer that you are giving my sister, which 
is the best proof of your perfect love for me. And I 
am quite sure that in this you are helped by my aunt 
your mother, Madame de Lorraine, for whom I feel 
the deepest gratitude, and whom I should like to 
assure of my readiness and anxiety to do her every 
possible service. And I pray God, my dearest 
brother, to have you in His holy keeping."^ 

The young Duke and Duchess were both of them 
longing to accept this pressing invitation and return 
to the gay French Court. Charles as yet took little 

1 A. de Ruble, 308; Bibliotheque Nationale, 123, 4, f. 40. 



Dec, 1559] CHRISTINA RETURNS TO NANCY 463 

interest in public affairs which required serious 
attention. Confusion reigned in every department. 
In many instances the ducal lands had been seized 
and their revenues appropriated to other uses, while 
the whole country had suffered from the frequent 
incursions of foreign troops, and famine and distress 
prevailed in man}^ districts. Under these circum- 
stances the help of the Duchess-mother was sorely 
needed. Vaudemont, having neither health nor 
capacity to cope with these difficulties, had retired 
into private life, and by degrees Christina resumed 
most of her old functions. She applied herself to 
reforming abuses and restoring order in the finances, 
and at the same time helped her son and daughter-in- 
law in entertaining the nobles who flocked to Nancy 
to pay them homage. Her daughters came to join her 
at Christmas, and she settled once more in her old 
quarters in the ducal palace. In March the Duke 
returned to the French Court, and his mother was 
left to act as Regent during his absence.^ 

After visiting Remiremont and Bar, Charles and 
his wife went on to spend the summer with the King 
and Queen at Amboise, where they gave themselves 
up to hunting and dancing, and enjoyed suppers at 
Chenonceaux and water-parties on the Loire. But 
this joyous life was rudely disturbed by the discovery 
of a Huguenot conspiracy, which was put down with 
ruthless severity, and was followed by continual 
alarms. The King and Duke had to be escorted by 
500 men-at-arms on their hunting-parties, and the 
Cardinal of Lorraine never left his room without a 
guard of ten men bearing loaded pistols. On the 
loth of June Mary of Guise died in Edinburgh Castle, 
^ Calmet, ii. 1353; Pfister, ii. 246. 



464 THE RETURN TO LORRAINE [Bk. xiii 

and her remains were brought back to her native 
land and buried in her sister's convent church, 
St. Pierre of Reims. The whole Court went into 
mourning, and Throckmorton was so moved by the 
young Queen's tears that he declared " there never 
was a daughter who loved her mother better."^ 
Meanwhile the aspect of affairs grew daily more 
threatening. There were riots in the provinces, and 
rumours of plots at Court. The Duke of Lorraine was 
present at the Council held at St. Germain for the 
defence of the realm, but left for Nancy when the Court 
moved to Orleans in October. 

Two months later the young King died there very 
suddenly. He fainted at vespers one evening, and 
passed away at midnight on the 5th of December, 
1560. His brother Charles, a boy of ten, was pro- 
claimed King in his stead, and his mother, Catherine 
de' Medici, assumed the Regency. Three days after- 
wards Throckmorton wrote that the late King was 
already forgotten by everyone but his widow, who, 
" being as noble-minded as she is beautiful, weeps pas- 
sionately for the husband who loved her so dearly, 
and with whom she has lost everything." The young 
Queen behaved with admirable discretion. On the 
day after the King's death she sent the Crown jewels 
to her mother-in-law, and, as soon as the funeral had 
been solemnized, begged leave to go and visit her 
mother's grave at Reims. After spending three weeks 
with her aunt, Abbess Renee, Mary went to stay with 
her grandmother at Joinville, where she was joined 
by Anne of Aerschot, the one of all her mother's 
family to whom she clung the most closely, calling 

^ Venetian Calendar, vii. 163; Calendar of State Papers, 
Elizabeth, Foreign, iii. 224. 



May, I56I] LA REINE BLANCHE 465 

her " ma tante," and consulting her in all her 
difficulties.^ 

Christina herself was full of sympathy for this 
young Queen, whose early widowhood recalled her 
own fate, and she joined cordially in the invitation 
which the Duke sent Mary to pay a visit to Nancy. 
" The Queen of Scotland," wrote Throckmorton to 
Elizabeth on the ist of May, 1561, " is at Nancy with 
the Dowager, whom here they call Son Altesse." 
Christina rode out with her son to meet their guest 
on the frontiers of Lorraine, and her uncles, the two 
Cardinals, Aumale, Vaudemont, and the Duchess of 
Aerschot, all accompanied her to Nancy. 

The touching beauty of the young widow created 
a profound sensation at the Court of Lorraine. Bran- 
tome describes her as " a celestial vision "; Ronsard 
sang of the charms which transfigured son grand 
deuil et tristesse, and made her more dangerous in this 
simple white veil that rivalled the exquisite delicacy 
of her complexion than in the most sumptuous robes 
and dazzling jewels; and Clouet drew his immortal 
portrait .2 The Duke arranged a series of fetes to 
distract the young Queen's mind and help to dry her 
tears. There were masques and dances at Nancy, 
hunting-parties and banquets at Nomeny, where 
Mary stood godmother to the Count Vaudemont 's 
youngest child; and the Court was gayer than it had 
been for many years. But intrigue was once more rife 
at the French Court, and all manner of proposals 
were made for the young widow's hand. The King of 
Denmark, Frederic IIL, the Prince of Orange, the 

* Calendar of State Papers, Elizabeth, Foreign, iv. 91 ; Venetian 
Calendar, vii. 290. 

2 A. de Ruble, 210; Brantome, xii. ii6; Aubespine, 752. 



466 THE RETURN TO LORRAINE [Bk. xill 

Archduke Charles, the Dukes of Bavaria and Ferrara, 
were all suggested as possible husbands. The fas- 
cination which Mary had for the boy- King Charles IX. 
was well known, and Catherine de' Medici, who had 
never forgiven Mary for calling her a shopkeeper's 
daughter, was secretly plotting to keep her away 
from the Court, and yet prevent her marriage to Don 
Carlos, whom she wished to secure for her youngest 
daughter, Margot, The Cardinal of Lorraine was 
known to be eager for the Spanish marriage, and both 
Christina and Anne did their best to forward his 
scheme, which was the subject of many letters that 
passed between Granvelle, the Duchess of Aerschot, 
and Mary herself. But Philip, without actually de- 
clining the offer, always returned evasive answers, 
whether he shrank from placing his sickly and way- 
ward son in an independent position, or whether he 
feared the power of the Guise faction.^ 

In the midst of the festivities at Nancy, Mary fell ill 
of fever, and as soon as she was fit to travel returned 
to Joinville, to be nursed by her grandmother; while 
Christina accompanied her son and his wife to Reims 
for the new King's sacring on the 15th of May. The 
magnificence of the Duchess-mother's appearance on 
this occasion excited general admiration. Grief and 
anxiety had left their traces on her face, but, in spite 
of advancing years and sorrow, Christina was still a 
very handsome woman. Among all the royal ladies 
who met in the ancient city, none was more stately 
and distinguished-looking than Madame de Lorraine. 
As her chariot, draped with black velvet fringed with 
gold, and drawn by four superb white horses of Arab 
breed, drew up in front of the Cardinal's palace, a 
1 Aubespine, 80-84; Bouille, ii. 74; Venetian Calendar, vii. 290 




vrL -w-icLcruA} cLr^^j 
C/ronv'the drcwAnq in -tAe yjtUio-tlt&quc ^'V-dbioncLie ■aZ-^/a 



May, 1561] CORONATION OF CHARLES IX. 467 

murmur of admiration ran through the crowd. The 
Duchess sat at one window, clad in a long black velvet 
robe, and wearing a jewelled diadem on her head, with 
a flowing white veil and cap of the shape that became 
known at the French Court as d la Lorraine, and was 
adopted by Mary, Queen of vScots, for her habitual use. 
At the other sat her lovely young daughter Renee, 
the coveted bride of many of the Princes who were 
present that day, while on the opposite seat was the 
Princess of Macedonia, an august white-haired lady, 
with the chiselled features of the proud Greek race to 
which she belonged. The Queen-mother, Catherine de' 
Medici, stood at a window of the Archbishop's palace 
to watch the entry of the Lorraine Princes, and as 
she saw the Duchess alight, she exclaimed: " That is 
the finest woman I know !" Then, descending the 
grand staircase, she advanced to meet Christina with 
a stately courtesy, and thanked her for the honour she 
was doing her son. 

" Herself a very proud woman," writes Brantome, 
" she knew that she had her match in the Duchess, 
and always treated her with the highest honour and 
distinction, without ever yielding one jot of her own 
claims."^ 

The Duke of Lorraine bore the sword of state at 
the great ceremony on the morrow, while Francis of 
Guise held the crown on the boy- King's head, and 
his brother, the Cardinal, anointed his brow with the 
holy chrism. " Everything," as Charles IX. wrote 
to the Bishop of Limoges, " passed off to the great 
satisfaction of everyone present ;"2 and when all was 
over, Madame de Lorraine and her children accom- 
panied the King and his mother to a country-house 

^ Brantome, xii. 117. 2 Aubespine, 867. 



468 THE RETURN TO LORRAINE [Bk. xill 

belonging to the Cardinal in the neighbourhood, and 
enjoyed a week's repose in delicious spring weather. 
Then the Court went on to St. Germain, where the 
Queen of Scots came to take leave of her husband's 
family, and with many tears bade farewell to the 
pleasant land of France, which she had loved all too 
well for her own happiness. 



III. 

On the death of Christian II. of Denmark, his elder 
daughter, Dorothea, the widowed Electress Palatine, 
assumed the royal style and title. But as she was 
childless herself, and lived in retirement at Neuburg, 
in the Upper Palatinate, the faithful subjects who still 
clung to their rightful monarch's cause turned to 
Christina, the Duchess-Dowager of Lorraine, and 
begged her to assert her son's claims to the throne, 
saying that they regarded him as their future King. 
Chief among these was Peder Oxe, an able public 
servant who had been exiled by Christian III., and 
came to visit the Duchess in the convent of La 
Cambre at Brussels in 1559, soon after the captive 
monarch's death. Peder tried to enlist her sym- 
pathies on behalf of her father's old subjects, and 
assured her that the recovery of Denmark would be 
an easy matter, owing to the unpopularity of the new 
King, Frederic III. At first Christina lent a willing 
ear to these proposals, but her friend Count d'Arem- 
berg succeeded in convincing her of the futility of 
such an enterprise, while both Philip and Granvelle 
firmly refused to support the scheme.^ Peder Oxe, 
however, followed Christina to Nancy, where he be- 

^ Schlegel, 253; Granvelle, vi. i. 



March, 1561] DEATH OF DOROTHEA 469 

came a member of the Ducal Council, and did good 
service in restoring order in the finances. 

Other Danish exiles sought refuge at the Court of 
Lorraine, where their presence naturally revived 
Christina's dreams of recovering her father's throne. 
All manner of rumours were abroad. In March, 1 561 , 
Chaloner heard that the French King and the Duke 
of Lorraine were about to invade Denmark. Three 
months later Mary, Queen of Scots' faithful servant, 
Melville, wrote from Heidelberg that the Duchess- 
Dowager of Lorraine had come there to persuade her 
sister, the old Countess Palatine, to surrender her 
rights on Denmark to her nephew, the Duke of 
Lorraine, Christina spent some time with her 
sister, and was joined in September by the Duke, who 
came to escort her home.^ The Palatine Frederic's 
successor. Otto Heinrich, had died in iSS9, and his 
cousin, the reigning Elector, Frederic of Zimmern, 
the brother of the Countess Egmont and her sister 
Helene, was deeply attached to Dorothea, and, like 
his predecessor, professed the Lutheran faith. A 
year after Christina's visit Dorothea died suddenly at 
Neuburg, and was buried by her husband's side in 
the Church of the Holy Ghost at Heidelberg. The 
Palatine Frederic erected a fine monument over her 
grave, with the following inscription : 

" To the most noble Lady, Dorothea, Countess 
Palatine, and Queen of Denmark, Sweden, and Nor- 
way, the beloved consort of the Elector Frederic II., 
this tomb was raised by Frederic III., by the grace of 
God Elector Palatine, in the year 1562, as a token of 
love and gratitude to this his most dear and excellent 
kinswoman." 

^ Calendar of State Papers, Elizabeth, Foreign, ii. 458, iii. 328. 

31 



470 THE RETURN TO LORRAINE [Bk. xiii 

Dorothea's tomb was destroyed with that of her 
husband and many others when Louis XIV.'s armies 
sacked and burnt Heidelberg in 1693, but an EngHsh 
traveller who visited the castle and Church of the 
Holy Ghost thirty years before, preserved this in 
scrip tion in his diary .^ 

Christina came to Heidelberg with her son and both 
her daughters in the autumn of the year 1562, and 
was present at Frankfurt on the 24th of November, 
when her cousin Maximilian was crowned King of 
the Romans. On this occasion the Emperor Fer- 
dinand collected as many of the imperial family as 
possible around him. The Dukes and Duchesses of 
Bavaria and Cleves were present, as well as most 
of the Electors and Princes of the Empire; while 
Ibrahim Bey, the Sultan's Ambassador, brought 
camels and rugs and Persian jars as gifts from his 
master. Among the old friends whom the Duchess 
met at Frankfurt were the Prince of Orange, Counts 
Egmont and Jacques d'Aremberg. They greeted her 
with renewed friendliness, and from their lips she 
heard how badly things were going in the Low 
Countries, and how unpopular the Regent and her 
Minister, the newly-created Cardinal de Granvelle, 
had become with all classes of people .^ The Emperor 
and all his family returned to Heidelberg after the 
coronation, and were splendidly entertained by the 
Palatine, who was anxious to arrange a marriage 
between one of his sons and Mademoiselle de Lor- 
raine. But Frederic's strong Lutheran tenets were a 
serious obstacle to this plan. At the recent corona- 

^ A. Churchill, " Collection of Voyages and Travels," vi. 458. 
2 Calendar of State Papers, Elizabeth, Foreign, v. 554; Gran- 
velle, vi. 683. 



Feb., 1563] DUKE OF GUISE'S MURDER 471 

tion he had refused to attend Mass, and had remained 
in the vestry of the cathedral until the service was 
over. 

Meanwhile religious strife was raging in France, and 
Christina returned to Nancy to find that civil war had 
broken out. Earlier in the year the massacre of a 
peaceable congregation at Wassy, near Joinville, 
had excited the fury of the Huguenots, and a fierce 
struggle was being waged on the frontiers of Lor- 
raine. The Duke's own kindred were divided. Conde 
was the leader of the revolted party, while his brother 
Antoine, King of Navarre — I'Echangeur, as he was 
called, because he was said to change his religion as 
often as he did his coat — was mortally wounded, 
fighting on the King's side, in the siege of Rouen. 
A month later the Constable de Montmorency was 
made prisoner in the Battle of Dreux, by his own 
nephew Coligny. On the 21st of February, 1563, 
Christina and her son were attending the baptism of 
the Duke of Aumale's son Claude, when a messenger 
arrived with the news that the Duke of Guise had 
been stabbed by a Huguenot fanatic in the camp 
before Orleans. After a public funeral in Notre 
Dame, the remains of Antoinette's most illustrious 
son were buried at Joinville, amid the lamentations 
of the whole nation.^ 

Fortunately, the duchy of Lorraine escaped the 
horrors of civil war. On the i8th of May, 1562, 
Charles made his long-deferred state entry into 
Nancy, and took a solemn vow to observe the rights 
of his subjects before he received the ducal crown. 
But he still consulted his mother in all important 
matters, and treated her with the utmost respect 
^ Pimodan, 215. 



472 THE RETURN TO LORRAINE [Bk. xili 

and affection.^ His own time and thoughts were 
chiefly occupied in enlarging and beautifying the 
ducal palace. He extended the Galerie des Cerfs, 
and built a fine hall, adorned with frescoes of the 
Metamorphoses of Ovid, a translation of which had 
been dedicated to his grandfather, Duke Antoine, by 
the poet Clement Marot. At the same time he re- 
built the old Salle du Jeu de Paume on the model of 
one at the Louvre, and made a picture-gallery above 
this new hall, which he hung with portraits of the 
ducal family .2 

Christina also devoted much attention to the im- 
provement of her estates. She rebuilt the salt-works 
at Les Rosieres, which had been abandoned in the last 
century, and placed an inscription on the gates, 
recording that in February, 1563, these salt-works 
were erected by 

" Christina, by the grace of God Queen of Denmark, 
Sweden, and Norway, Sovereign of the Goths, Van- 
dals, and Slavonians, Duchess of Schleswig, Ditt- 
marsch, Lorraine, Bar, and Milan, Countess of Olden- 
burg and Blamont, and Lady of Tortona."^ 

Several indications of the active part that she took 
in affairs of State appear in contemporary records. 
In 1564, with the Pope's sanction, she concluded an 
agreement with the Bishop of Toul, by which he made 
over his temporalities to the Duke of Lorraine. 
Christina, as she explained to Granvelle, had taken 
this step to avoid the see from becoming the property 
of France ; but her action roused the indignation of 
her uncle, the Emperor Ferdinand, who rebuked his 

1 Granvelle, vii. 488. 

2 Pfister, ii. 184; H. Lepage, " Le Palais Ducal de Nancy," 3. 

3 Calmet, iii. 30. 




\\f?.^eut a/Fez, tromer cnjm c^ 4^ Cmjyers , 
'^DUrjomfn^er tdnjront, res 'IX^/es , et ta ' /zice^ 

CHARLES III., DUKE OF LORRAir^E; 



To /ace p. 472 



Nov., 1563] BIRTH OF A GRANDSON 473 

good niece sharply for venturing to meddle with the 
affairs of the Imperial Chamber.^ 

On the 8th of November, 1563, the Duchess Claude 
gave birth to her first child, a boy which was named 
Henry, after her father, the late King of France. 
Both Charles IX. and Philip II. consented to stand 
godfathers, and the French King announced his in- 
tention of attending the child's christening in person. 
His visit, however, was put off, as the young Duchess 
fell seriously ill of smallpox, and was eventually fixed 
to take place at Bar after Easter. There was even a 
rumour that King Philip, whose presence in the Low 
Countries was earnestly desired, would visit Lorraine 
on his journey, and meet the French monarch on the 
ist of May. The prospect of seeing Catherine and 
her son with an armed force in Lorraine filled Christina 
with alarm. The Queen-mother, as she knew, was 
very jealous of the Duchess-Dowager's influence with 
her son, and neglected no means of placing French 
subjects in positions of authority at the Ducal Court ;2 
while her recent intrigues with the Huguenot leaders 
might lead to the introduction of Protestant rites at 
the ceremony. Before the date fixed for the christen- 
ing, however, Christina received an unexpected visitor 
in the person of Cardinal Granvelle, who had been 
compelled to bow to the storm and leave the Nether- 
lands. In a private note which he sent to Granvelle 
on the I St of March, 1564, Philip had desired the 
Cardinal to retire to Besangon on plea of paying 
a visit to his mother, whom he had not seen for 
nineteen years. The desired permission was readily 
granted by the Regent, and, to the great satisfaction 

^ Granvelle, vii. 344; Calmet, iii. 434, 438. 
2 Granvelle, vii. 488. 



474 THE RETURN TO LORRAINE [Bk. xiii 

of the nobles, the hated Minister left Brussels on the 
13th of March. " Our man is really going," wrote 
William of Orange to his brother Louis . ' ' God grant 
he may go so far that he can never return !"^ 

The Cardinal had by this time recognized his fatal 
mistake in persuading the King to appoint the 
Duchess of Parma Regent instead of Madame de 
Lorraine, " by which action," as he himself wrote, 

I made the Prince of Orange my enemy." ^ He 
was the more anxious to recover Christina's good 
graces, while she on her part does not appear to have 
borne him any grudge for his share in the transaction. 
His way led him through Lorraine, and when he 
reached Pont-a-Mousson he found a messenger from 
the Duchess begging him to come and see her at 
Nancy. On his arrival he was received by the 
Duke's maitre d' hotel, and conducted to lodgings in 
the palace. This " very fine house," and the hospi- 
tality with which he and his companions were enter- 
tained, gratified the Cardinal, and after supper he 
was received by the Duchess-Dowager, with whom he 
had a long interview in the Grande Galerie.^ They 
conversed freely of the troubles in the Netherlands. 
Christina was anxious to justify herself from the charge 
of fomenting these dissensions, and declared that 
she had nothing to say against the Duchess of Parma, 
and only complained of her refusal to allow a Mass 
for her father. King Christian IL, to be said in the 
Court chapel on the anniversary of his death. But 
she had many complaints to make of the King, who 
had only written to her five times in the last five 
years, and who insisted on keeping her Castle of 

* Gachard, " Correspondance de Gxiillaurae, Prince d'Orange," 
ii. 67; Groan, i. 214, ^ " Memoires de Granvelle," xxxv. 19. 

3 Granvelle, vii. 437-440. 



March, 1564] GRANVELLE AT NANCY 475 

Tortona in his own hands, and employed the revenues 
of the town to pay the garrison, without giving her 
any compensation, Granvelle could only allege the 
unsettled state of Lombardy and the disorder of 
Milanese finances as excuses for Philip's behaviour. 
The Duchess further confided to him her fears regard- 
ing the French King's visit, and the intrigues of 
Catherine, who was always endeavouring to destroy 
the harmony that prevailed between herself and her 
daughter-in-law. Granvelle did his best to allay 
these alarms, and assured her that the rumours as 
to the large force that was to accompany him to 
Lorraine were absolutely false. 

Another subject on which Christina consulted the 
Cardinal was her designs against Denmark. The 
young King Frederic III. at first professed great 
friendship for her, and opened negotiations for his 
marriage with her daughter Renee — a proposal which 
she was reluctant to accept.^ This idea, however, was 
soon abandoned, and the outbreak of war between 
Denmark and Sweden seemed to afford an oppor- 
tunity for advancing her own claims. Peder Oxe and 
his companion in exile, Willem von Griimbach, urged 
her to raise an army and invade Jutland, assuring her 
that the discontented Danish nobles were only longing 
for an excuse to rise in a body and dethrone the 
usurper. But Christina realized that it would be 
useless to make any attempt without Philip's support, 
which she begged Granvelle to obtain. The Cardinal, 
however, quite declined to approach the King on the 
subject, and told the Duchess that a rupture with 
Denmark would make him more unpopular in Flanders 
than he was already, saying that he had no wish to be 

^ ^chafer, y. iii, U2, 



476 THE RETURN TO LORRAINE [Bk. xill 

stoned by the Dutch. Before leaving Nancy he dis- 
cussed the situation at length with the Duchess's 
latest friend, Baron de Polweiler, the Bailiff of 
Hagenau, a brave and loyal servant of Charles V., 
who had warmly espoused Christina's cause and 
was in correspondence with the Danish malcontents. 
The Baron was a wise and practical man, and agreed 
with Granvelle that the best course of action would 
be to keep up the agitation in Denmark, without 
taking further measures until the coming of King 
Philip, which was now confidently expected.^ 

After the Cardinal's departure, Christina fell ill at 
Denoeuvre, and was unable to accompany the Duke, 
who came to fetch her, and insisted on putting 
off the child's christening until his mother was fit 
to travel. At length, on the 2nd of May, the 
Duchess and her daughters started for Bar, where the 
christening was celebrated on the following day, and 
Christina held her grandson at the font. There was 
no display of armed force, nor was any attempt made 
to introduce Lutheran rites. On the contrary, the 
Queen-mother and all her suite were most amiable, 
the greatest good- will prevailed on all sides, and the 
whole party spent the next week in feasting, jousting, 
and dancing, while Ronsard composed songs in honour 
of the occasion. On the 9th of May the young King 
resumed his progress to Lyons, and the aged Duchess 
Antoinette, who had come to Bar at the Cardinal of 
Lorraine's prayer, returned to Joinville with her son. 
Christina's worst alarms had been dispelled, but 
her suspicions were to some extent justified by the 
revival of the French King's old claims to Bar, and 
the advance of certain new pretensions, which were 

^ Granvelle, vii. 533, 671, viii. 522. 



May, 1564] ILLNESS OF CHRISTINA 477 

eventually referred to a court of justice in Paris. 
What annoyed her scarcely less was the inferior 
quality of the ring sent by the King of Spain to 
Duchess Claude, which excited more than one un- 
pleasant comment, although Count Mansfeldt, who 
stood proxy for Philip, informed her privately that 
Margaret of Parma had spent double the sum named 
by His Majesty on his christening present/ 



IV. 

In July, 1564, Christina fell dangerously ill, and 
Silliers told Polweiler that his mistress was suffering 
from a grave internal malady. In November she 
had a severe relapse, and her death was hourly ex- 
pected. Her children and servants nursed her 
with untiring devotion, and her friends at Brussels 
were deeply concerned. Anne d'Aerschot, Margaret 
d'Aremberg, Egmont, and the Prince of Orange, made 
frequent inquiries ; and even Queen Mary wrote from 
Scotland to ask after the Duchess's health. Philip 
alone took no notice of her illness, and his indifference 
was keenly resented by Christina and her whole 
family. " For the love of God," wrote Silliers to 
Polweiler, " do your best to see that Madame is con- 
soled, or she will certainly die of grief and despair." 
And he poured out a passionate complaint, setting 
forth his mistress's wrongs, and saying how, after 
cheating her out of Vigevano, the King kept both the 
castle and revenues of her dower city in his hands, 
and allowed her subjects to be exposed to the depreda- 
tions of the Spanish garrison. " To my mind," he 
adds, " this is a strange proof of the singular 
^ Calmet, iii. 1359; Granvelle, viii. 46. 



478 THE RETURN TO LORRAINE [Bk. XIII 

affection which he professes to have for my Lady !"^ 
Granvelle himself was much concerned, and, when 
Polweiler wrote to report an improvement in the 
Duchess's condition, expressed his thankfulness, saying 
that the loss of such a Princess would be a heavy 
blow to the cause of religion, as well as the greatest 
calamity that could befall Lorraine. He owned that 
Madame had been harshly treated, and could only 
counsel patience and assure her of Philip's good-will; 
but he confessed that the task was a disagreeable one. 
When Philip wrote at last, it was merely to exhort 
the Duchess to be patient, as the whole world was 
in travail, and to promise that her claims should be 
settled by the Cardinal .^ Meanwhile fresh appeals 
reached Christina every day from her Danish par- 
tisans, while King Eric of Sweden, who had declared 
war on Denmark, opened negotiations with her 
through his French Minister, Charles de Mornay. A 
marriage between this young King and Renee was 
proposed, and Eric offered to support the Duchess's 
rights to Denmark if she could obtain the help of the 
Emperor and of the Netherlands. Ferdinand, how- 
ever, quite declined to countenance any attack on his 
ally, and begged his dear niece not to stir up strife in 
Germany, although he assured her of his paternal 
love and readiness to help her in the recovery of her 
rights by peaceable methods. A few weeks after 
writing this letter the good Emperor died, and, as 
Christina knew, she could expect little from his suc- 
cessor Maximilian, who had never forgiven her friend « 
ship with Philip in bygone days, and did not even 
send her the customary announcement of his father's 
death . 

^ Granvelle, viii. 345. ^ Ibid., viii. 472. 



Jan., 1565] DUKE ADOLF'S MARRIAGE 479 

Another ally whose help the Duchess tried to enlist 
was the old Landgrave, Philip of Hesse, whose 
daughter Christina, after being wooed for some years 
by the King of Sweden, was finally married to Duke 
Adolf of Holstein on the 20th of January, 1565. As 
Granvelle remarks, it was a strange ending to this 
Prince's long courtship of Madame de Lorraine, but 
he probably still hoped to support her cause in 
Denmark. And as the Prince of Orange was asked 
to represent King Philip at the marriage, Christina 
would have an opportunity of consulting him about 
her Danish expedition.^ But the Prince refused to 
leave Flanders, and a serious relapse prevented the 
Duchess from attending the wedding. As soon as 
she had recovered sufficiently, Christina dictated a 
letter to her beloved sister Anne, who was still her 
most faithful friend : 

" Your letter was most welcome, as I had not heard 
from you lately, and I thank you warmly for all that 
you say. I am getting better, but am not very strong 
yet. As to the Swedish business, I am anxious to 
know the name of the person whom you mention as 
having the greatest affection for me and mine, and 
who might help me with the King. And as I know 
that you only desire my good, I beg you to keep your 
eyes open, and tell me who are my best friends at 
Court. I quite agree with j^ou that it is useless 
to fish in troubled waters. Monsieur d'Egmont's 
journey to Spain is a surprising event ! The cause is 
unknown to me, but it must be some matter of im- 
portance. Thank you again with all my heart for 
the love that is expressed in your letters." ^ 

The friends to whose influence at Court Anne had 
referred were the Count and Countess of Aremberg, 
who stood high in favour with the King and the 

^ Granvelle, viii. 609. 2 Ji)id., viii. 637. 



48o THE RETURN TO LORRAINE [Bk. xill 

Regent, and were in constant correspondence with 
Christina. 

" Would to God," wrote Margaret of Aremberg, 
" that Madame de Lorraine could obtain the King's 
favour ! She would then be easily able to regain her 
own, as the Danes hate their King, and he has no 
power over them. But I confess I have lost all hopes 
of this ever coming to pass,"^ 

By the advice of these friends, the Duchess now 
decided to send Baron de Polweiler to Spain to beg 
the King for the 300,000 crowns due to her, in order 
that she might avail herself of the opportunity pre- 
sented by the war between Sweden and Denmark, 
and open the campaign in the summer. Upon this 
Granvelle felt it his duty to inform his master of the 
Duchess's plans, which might, he thought, be success- 
ful if the King could help her with subsidies, since she 
had several allies in Germany .^ Duke Eric of Bruns- 
wick offered to raise an army and take the com- 
mand of the expedition, and the Landgrave of Hesse 
promised to help on condition that she gave her 
daughter Renee in marriage to one of his sons; while, 
by way of removing Philip's objections, the Cardinal 
dwelt on the advantages of restoring the true faith in 
these Northern kingdoms. But this plan was frus- 
trated by the Archduke Ferdinand's refusal to give 
Polweiler leave of absence, and as Silliers, who offered 
to go in his stead, would only have made matters 
worse, Christina resolved to ask Count Egmont to 
plead her cause at Madrid. Even Granvelle, who had 
no love for the Count, approved of this plan. Egmont 
was known to be devoted to the Duchess, and his great 

^ Granvelle, viii. 637. 

2 Granvelle, ix. 22, 28; Schafer, v. 114. 



June, 1565] JOURNEY TO BRUSSELS 481 

popularity in the Low Countries would go far to 
remove the objections to a breach with Denmark in 
those provinces. Unfortunately, in spite of his good- 
will, Egmont effected no more for Christina than he 
did for the liberties of the Netherlands, He was 
royally entertained by Philip and his courtiers, and 
loaded with presents and flatteries, but, when he 
came to business, received nothing but vague words 
and empty promises. 

On his return to Flanders in April, his house was 
crowded with visitors, and the Duchess, finding that 
she could obtain no answer to her letters, determined 
to go to Brussels herself. In June she set out on her 
journey, saying that she was going to kiss the Holy 
Coat at Treves and pay her devotions to the Blessed 
Sacrament of the Miracle at Brussels^ in fulfilment of 
a vow made when she had been at the point of death .^ 
Her pilgrimage excited great curiosity, and even 
Polweiler was in the dark as to its object, but felt 
convinced that she meant to see Egmont and Eric of 
Brunswick, and that they would soon hear of a sudden 
call to arms. 

" I hear from a trustworthy source," wrote the 
Landgrave to Louis of Nassau, " that the old Duch- 
ess of Lorraine is going to Brussels with both her 
daughters. She has raised 400,000 crowns at Ant- 
werp to make war on Denmark, and is to be helped 
by the Netherlands with ships, money, and men. Her 
daughter Renee is to marry King Eric, and a close 
aUiance against the Danish King is to be formed 
between Sweden, Lorraine, the States, and the Holy 
Empire. Although I do not hold popular rumours 
to be as infallible as Holy Gospel, I count them more 
worthy of belief than ^sop's fables or the tales of 
Amadis de Gaul. Of one thing I am quite sure: The 

^ Granvelle, ix. 373. 



482 THE RETURN TO LORRAINE [Bk. xill 

Duchess does not travel to Flanders or send an Am- 
bassador to Sweden to roast pears or dance a galliard. 
The latest report is that the Duchess is going to sell 
her claims on Denmark to the King of Spain, but I can 
hardly think His Majesty will be anxious to buy 
these barren rights which bring a war in their train. 
Do not take my gossip unkindly, but let me know 
what you hear of this business."^ 

A cloud of mystery surrounds this visit which 
Christina paid to Brussels in the summer of 1565. 
She declined the Regent's invitation to occupy her 
old quarters in the palace, but stayed in the religious 
house known as the Cloister of Jericho, and after- 
wards with the Duchess of Aerschot at Diest. She 
received visits from Duke Eric, who professed himself 
ready to raise troops to serve her at the shortest 
notice, and also from Count Egmont. But all that 
she could learn from this noble was that, when he 
urged her claims on the King, and begged him to see 
that the arrears due to her were paid, Philip replied 
that Her Highness was the wisest and most virtuous 
of women, and would always take the best course 
possible.^ By August Christina was back in Lorraine, 
and attended the christening of Nicholas de Vaude- 
mont's new-born daughter, who received the name 
of Christina.^ 

Whatever others may have felt about the Duchess's 
designs on Denmark, the King of Sweden was evi- 
dently in earnest. Four Ambassadors arrived at 
Nancy on All Saints' Day, 1565, and went on to 
Denoeuvre. They brought offers from Eric to con- 
quer Norway and Denmark in the Duchess's name 
and leave her in possession of the latter kingdom, and 
asked for Madame Renee's hand, in order to confirm 

^ Groen, i. 408. - Granvelle, ix. 498. ^ Ibid., ix. 496. 



Feb., 1566] INTRIGUES WITH SWEDEN 483 

the alliance between Lorraine and Sweden. During 
a whole year the .Swedish Envoys remained at Nancy, 
and prolonged conferences were held between them 
and the Duke and his mother. A new ally also came 
to her help in the person of the Czar of Muscovy, who 
was profuse in his offers of assistance. Christina's 
hopes rose high, and a medal was struck in 1 566, bear- 
ing her effigy as Queen of Denmark, with the motto : 
Me sine cuncta ruunt (Without me all things 
perish).^ But one ally after the other failed her. 
Both the Emperor Maximilian and the Elector of 
Saxony, who had married a Princess of Denmark, 
were strongly opposed to her schemes; while the 
ancient feud between the Danes and Swedes, who, in 
Silliers's words, " hated each other as much as cats 
and dogs or English and French," helped to compli- 
cate matters .2 At the same time, she felt reluctant 
to give her daughter to a man of Eric's unstable 
character, who had been courting Queen Elizabeth 
and Christina of Hesse at the same time, and. was 
known to have a low-born mistress. She had good 
reason to be afraid that the story of King Christian 
and Dyveke might be repeated, and her fears were 
justified when, a year later, the King of Sweden raised 
this favourite to the throne, and was soon afterwards 
deposed by his subjects. The defection of Peder Oxe, 
who made his peace with the King of Denmark and 
returned to Copenhagen at the close of 1566, was 
another blow, and the ultimate defeat of the Swedes 
in the following year extinguished her last hopes .^ 
Cardinal Granvelle, who had been sent to Italy by 
Philip to keep him away from the Netherlands, wrote 

^ Schafer, v. 116-118; Calmet, ii. 26. 

^ Granvelle, ix. 661-664; Groen, i. 303. ^ Schafer, v. 167. 



484 THE RETURN TO LORRAINE [Bk. XllI 

that the Viceroy, with the best will in the world, 
found it impossible to pay the arrears due to the 
Duchess, and could not withdraw the garrison at 
Tortona without the King's leave. As for the Danish 
expedition, Granvelle told Polweiler that it was more 
hopeless than ever, and he could only advise Her 
Highness to abandon the idea.^ 

" Madame de Lorraine," replied the Baron, " is in 
great perplexity, abandoned by all her relatives, and, 
like Tantalus, is left to die of thirst, looking down on 
a clear and beautiful stream." 

But a few faithful friends were still left. In May, 
1566, the Duchess of Aerschot came to Lorraine with 
her young son, and spent the summer in her old home. 
The troubles in the Netherlands filled her with the 
utmost anxiety, and her family, like many others, 
was divided. All her own sympathies were with 
William of Orange and Egmont in the struggle for 
freedom, but her stepson, Philip of Aerschot, and her 
cousin. Count d'Aremberg, were among the few nobles 
who refused to join the League, and stood fast by 
the Regent. Margaret of Parma looked coldly on her, 
owing to Anne's connection with Christina and the 
Prince of Orange, and did not even send her an in- 
vitation to her son Alexander's wedding. With her 
wonted good sense, Anne refused to notice this affront, 
and told her friends that she was too unwell to attend 
the festivities, which excited much discontent by their 
profuse extravagance .2 But the situation was painful, 
and she was glad to retire to Lorraine and enjoy the 
company of Christina and her venerable aunt. Duchess 
Antoinette. Together they read the affectionate letters 

^ Granvelle, " Correspondaaice," i. 126, 178. 2 j^id., i. 43, 524. 



March, 1567] LES GUEUX 485 

which Mary Stuart wrote from her Northern home, 
and sighed over the perils surrounding the young 
Queen. In spite of her relatives' advice, she had 
married Darnley, the handsome Scottish boy whom 
her uncle the Cardinal of Lorraine termed " that 
great nincompoop of a girl," and was already learning 
to her cost the mistake that she had made. 

Terrible news now came from Flanders. Riots 
broke out in Antwerp and Ghent, and spread rapidly 
through the provinces. The great church of St. John 
was plundered, Hubert van E3^ck's famous Adoration 
was only saved by the presence of mind of the 
Canons, and the tomb of Christina's mother, Queen 
Isabella, was hacked to pieces.^ In Brussels S. 
Gudule was stripped of its pictures and statues, and 
the cry of " Vivent les Gueux!" rang through the 
courts of Charles V.'s palace. The Regent tried in 
vain to escape, and was forced to turn for help to the 
Prince of Orange and her most bitter enemies. Anne 
returned home to find public affairs in dire confusion, 
and retired to her dower-house at Diest. After her 
departure Christina became seriously ill, and in the 
spring of 1 567 her daughters entreated the Countess 
of Aremberg to come to Lorraine, saying that her 
presence would be the best medicine for their mother. 
Margaret obeyed the summons and spent three 
months at Nancy and Denoeuvre.^ On her return she 
told Granvelle's friend. Provost Morillon, that the 
King made a great mistake in being so unfriendly 
to the House of Lorraine, and that if Madame died 
the Duke would become altogether French, and his 
duchy might at any moment fall into the hands of 
France. Charles was Catholic to his finger-tips, and 

^ Granvelle, " Correspondance, " i. 444. ^ Ibid., i. 494. 

32 



486 THE RETURN TO LORRAINE [Bk. xill 

entirely devoted to his mother, but after her death 
no one could tell what might happen.^ These repre- 
sentations were not without effect. Philip wrote in 
a more kindly strain to the Duchess, and sent one of 
his Chamberlains — Don Luis de Mendoza — to wait 
upon her at Nancy, and remain in Lorraine until the 
arrival of the Duke of Alva, who was now despatched 
from Spain to replace Margaret of Parma as Captain- 
General of the Netherlands. In July he crossed the 
Mont Cenis, and marched through Lorraine at the 
head of a force of picked Spanish and Italian soldiers 
Brantome rushed to Nancy to see this " gentle and 
gallant army," with their fine new muskets and pikes, 
but the sight filled many of the spectators with pro- 
found misgivings .2 

The Prince of Orange had already resigned all his 
offices and retired to Germany, but Egmont and his 
friend Count Horn were caught in the fatal snare, and 
were both arrested at a banquet in Alva's house on 
the evening of the 9th of September. The news filled 
Europe with consternation. In her distress Christina 
wrote several letters to the King of Spain, pleading 
passionately for the Count's release, and recalling his 
great deeds and the devotion which he had always 
shown to the King's service.^ Her appeals were 
seconded by the Duke and his wife, by Vaudemont, 
— Egmont 's own brother-in-law — by the Duke and 
Duchess of Bavaria, the Elector Palatine, and all the 
Princes of the Empire. Maximilian himself addressed 
two autograph letters to Philip, praying for the Count's 
release, and the Knights of the Golden Fleece pro- 
tested against this violation of the rules of their Order. 

1 Granvelle, " Correspondance," ii. 494. ^ Brantome, i. 104. 
3 Gachard, " Correspondance de Philippe II.," i. 18. 



June, 1568] DEATH OF EGMONT 487 

But all was in vain. Philip vouchsafed no answer 
to any of these appeals, saying he would not change 
his mind if the sky were to fall on his head/ and on 
the 6th of June, 1568, the Grande Place witnessed 
the execution of the hero of Gravelines. A fortnight 
before this shocking event, Anne, Duchess of Aerschot, 
breathed her last at Diest, thankful to escape from a 
world so full of misery, and only grieving to think that 
her vast dower and fine estates would not pass to their 
rightful owner, William of Orange .^ In the same 
month of May the first battle was fought between 
the revolted nobles and the Spanish forces, and 
Margaret of Aremberg's husband fell fighting valiantly 
in the melee. Meanwhile civil war had broken out 
again in France, and in November, 1 567, the Constable 
Montmorency, the old Nestor of France, was killed in 
a battle at St. Denis, fighting against the Huguenots, 
with Conde and his own nephew Coligny at their head . 
Old friends were falling on every side, and before 
Christina's tears for her sister-in-lawwere dried, she and 
the aged Duchess of Guise were mourning the sad fate 
of Antoinette's luckless granddaughter, the Queen of 
Scots, who had been compelled to abdicate her throne, 
and was now a captive in the hands of her rival, Queen 
Elizabeth. 

V. 

While civil war was raging all round, and Christina's 
best friends were dying on the scaffold or the battle- 
field, the marriage of her daughter Renee brought a 
ray of light into her life. The tale of Renee 's court- 
ships almost rivals that of her mother's. The Kings 

^ Gachard, " Correspondance de Philippe II.," i. 588, 738, 762. 
2 Granvelle, " Correspondance," iii. 235. 



488 THE RETURN TO LORRAINE [Bk. xill 

of Sweden and Denmark, William of Orange and 
Henri de Joinville, were only a few among the candi- 
dates who sought her hand. Granvelle once pro- 
posed the Duke of Urbino as a suitable match, and 
Philip was anxious to marry her to his handsome and 
popular half-brother, Don John of Austria. But 
the Duchess declined this offer repeatedly, saying 
that no child of hers should ever wed a bastard. 
When in the summer of 1567, Don Luis de Mendoza 
again urged this suit on the King's behalf, the Duchess 
informed him that her daughter's hand was already 
promised to Duke William of Bavaria, the eldest son 
of the reigning Duke Albert and his wife, the Arch- 
duchess Anna. The contract was signed in Septem- 
ber, and the marriage took place early in the following 
year,^ and turned out very happily. Throughout his 
life the Bavarian Duke maintained worthily the strong 
Catholic traditions of his house, and proved a dutiful 
and affectionate son-in-law. Christina spent the 
following winter at the Castle of Friedberg in Bavaria, 
where she was once more dangerously ill, and Silliers 
as usual complained bitterly of Philip's neglect and 
unkindness in never making inquiries after her health . 
But, in spite of all rebuffs, neither the Baron nor his 
mistress had abandoned their dreams of conquering 
Denmark, and in April, 1569, Cardinal Granvelle 
wrote to the King from Rome : 

" Madame de Lorraine is still trying to recover her 
father's kingdom, and both she and her Councillor, 
Silliers, are continually begging me for help in this 
matter. In vain I have replied for the hundredth 
time that I am too far from Madrid and the Low 
Countries to know if the affair is practicable, and have 

* Calmet, i. 265. 



Sept.. 1572] DEATH OF SILLIpRS 489 

pointed out that, in the first place, the Dutch will 
never break with Denmark; secondly, that the 
Emperor would object to any attempt of this kind; 
and, thirdly, that Your Majesty's hands are full. In 
fact, I have told her that I cannot see any solid 
foundations for her hopes. But she returns to the 
charge again and again. "^ 

It was the last flicker of an expiring flame. After 
this, even Christina seems to have recognized the 
futility of her schemes, and the death of Silliers finally 
decided her to abandon them altogether. This " vain, 
insupportable, and foolish man," as the Cardinal 
called him, and whom her son, the Duke, also detested 
cordially, lost his life in Bavaria, in September, 1572, 
being killed by a shot from a crossbow, which was 
said to be accidental, but which Granvelle and his 
other enemies ascribed to a paid assassin.^ During 
the last twenty years, it must be owned, Silliers had 
been the Duchess's evil genius; but, in spite of all 
his faults, he was sincerely attached to his mistress, 
and his devotion to her interests cannot be questioned. 

Christina spent the next six years chiefly at Nancy 
or Denoeuvre, in the company of her children and 
grandchildren. The Duke had a large family of 
three sons and six daughters, the eldest of whom, 
Christina, bore a strong likeness to her grandmother 
both in face and character. This Princess and her 
cousin Louise de Vaudemont, the daughter of Nicholas 
by his first wife, Margaret of Egmont, were great 
favourites with the Duchess-mother, and spent much 
time in her society. Louise was a fair and gentle 
maiden, whose charms captivated Henry, Duke of 
Anjou, when he came to Lorraine in 1573, on his way 
to take possession of the throne of Poland. He was 

^ Granvelle, " Correspondance," iii. 463. ^ Ibid., v. 418. 



490 THE RETURN TO LORRAINE [Bk. xiil 

accompanied by his mother, Queen Catherine, who 
spent a week at Nancy, and after her son's departure 
remained some days at Blamont with Christina. 
When, two years later, Henry succeeded his brother, 
Charles IX., the new King's first thought was to make 
the Princess of Lorraine his wife. Christina was too 
ill to leave her bed, but Duchess Antoinette, still 
young in spite of her eighty years, brought the bride 
to Reims, where the wedding was celebrated two 
days after Henry III.'s coronation. The Duke and 
his sister Dorothea were present at the ceremony, as 
well as all the Guise Princes.^ Five days afterwards, 
on the 20th of February, 1575, the Duchess Claude, 
whose health had long been failing, and who had 
lately given birth to twin daughters, died in the ducal 
palace, at the age of twenty-eight, leaving the Duke 
an inconsolable widower. He was only thirty- two, and 
although he lived till 1608, never married again. Soon 
after Claude's death, her eldest daughter, Christina, 
went to live with her grandmother, Catherine de' 
Medici, at the French Court. This masterful lady, 
who quarrelled with her own daughter Margaret, was 
very fond of Christina, and kept tliis young Princess 
constantly at her side during the next fourteen years. 
In the following December, Elizabeth of Austria, 
the widow of Charles IX., and daughter of the Em- 
peror Maximilian II., visited Nancy on her way back 
to Vienna, and was escorted on her journey by Renee 
and her husband, the Duke of Bavaria. They were 
all three present at the wedding of the Princess 
Dorothea, who was married in the Church of St. 
Georges, on the 26th of December, to Duke Eric of 
Brunswick .2 This wild and restless Prince had 
^ Pimodan, 254. ^ Calmet, i. 265; Pfister, ii. 256. 



Dec, 1575] MARRIAGE OF DOROTHEA 491 

always been on friendly terms with Christina and her 
family, and was one of King Philip's favourite cap- 
tains and a Knight of the Golden Fleece. He had 
lately lost his first wife, and succeeded his father in the 
principalities of Gottingen and Calenberg, although 
his roving tastes made him prefer foreign service to 
residence on his own estates. Now, at the age of 
forty-seven, he became the husband of Christina's 
younger daughter. In spite of her lameness, this 
Princess inherited much of her aunt Dorothea's 
charm and gaiety, and was fondly beloved by her 
brother and all his children. She took especial 
interest in the improvements which the Duke was 
never tired of making at Nancy, and helped him in 
laying out the beautiful terraced gardens, adorned 
with fountains and orangeries, in the precincts of the 
ducal palace. And the bell in the new clock- tower, 
which the Duke built in 1577, was named Dorothea, 
after the Duchess of Brunswick .^ Charles himself, 
like his father, was a Prince of cultured tastes, who 
studied the Latin and Italian poets and took delight in 
Ronsard's verses. The foundation of the University 
at Pont-a-Mousson bore witness to his love of learning, 
while he employed scholars to collect precious books 
and manuscripts, and sent his gardeners to inspect 
the royal palaces at Fontainebleau and St. Germain, 
and to bring back rare plants and exotics .^ 

In these last years of Christina's life at Nancy, new 
hopes and interests were suddenly brought into her 
life by Don John of Austria's arrival in the Low 
Countries. When terrorism and massacre had failed 

1 Pfister, ii. 246; H. Lepage, " La Ville de Nancy," 63. " Palais 
Ducal," 3. 

2 Pfister, ii. 496. 



492 THE RETURN TO LORRAINE [Bk. xiii 

to crush the revolted provinces, the hero of Lepanto was 
appointed Governor, in the hope that he might succeed 
in restoring order, by appeahng to his illustrious father's 
memory and ruling the Netherlands according to his 
example. In October, 1576, Don John travelled 
through France in the disguise of a Moorish servant, 
and, after spending one night in Paris, came to Joinville 
to consult the Duke of Guise on a romantic scheme 
which he had formed to release and marry the captive 
Queen of Scots. Then he hurried on to Luxembourg 
and proclaimed his intention of withdrawing the 
Spanish troops and granting a general amnesty. The 
coming of this chivalrous Prince, with his message 
of peace, filled the people of the Netherlands with 
new hope. Don John was received with open arms 
by the Duke of Aerschot and his half-brother, Anne 
of Lorraine's son, Charles de Croy, Marquis of Havre. 
His first act was to restore the lands and fortune of 
the late Count Egmont to his widow, the Countess 
Palatine Sabina, and her innocent children. This 
rejoiced the heart of Madame d'Aremberg, who had 
been spending the winter at Nancy with the Duchess, 
and Christina's nephew, Charles de Croy, told Don 
John frankly that the Low Countries would gladly 
have him, not only for their Governor, but for their 
King. Christina herself was deeply stirred, and sent 
a member of her household to Luxembourg with 
a letter welcoming the Prince in the warmest terms, 
and thanking him for the cheering news which he 
had sent her. 



" I can only praise God," she wrote, " for your 
appointment to the government of the Low Coun- 
tries^ and trust that the same success that, thanks 



Nov., 1576] DON JOHN OF AUSTRIA 493 

to your great valour and prudence, has everywhere 
attended you will continue to crown your efforts. 
' ' Your very loving and more than 
very affectionate cousin, 

" Chretienne. 

"Blamont, November 12, 1576."^ 

In her anxiety to see Don John, the Duchess set 
out for Pont-a-Mousson ; but when she reached Nancy, 
on the 12th of December, she heard that the Prince 
had already left Luxembourg for the Netherlands, 
and sent him the following letter by a confidential 
servant, who was to tell him many things which she 
could not commit to paper: 

" My Cousin, 

" The singular wish that I have to see Your 
Highness, and confer with you on many points of the 
highest importance, induced me to leave Blamont 
and come to Pont-a-Mousson, in order to be near you 
and to have an opportunity of seeing you and con- 
versing together, as you will learn more fully from 
this gentleman whom I am sending to wish you all 
prosperity and success in your noble designs and 
enterprises, as well as to tell you many things which 
I beg you to hear and believe. "^ 

Don John replied in the same friendly spirit, telling 
her his plans and thanking her most warmly for her 
advice. 

" As for me," he wrote, " I am exceedingly obliged 
to Your Highness for your offers, and shall always 
be most grateful for your advice and help, knowing, 
Madame, your great experience and wisdom in affairs. 
God knows how anxious I was to come and see Your 
Highness on my journey here, and kiss your hands, 
but it was impossible owing to the urgency of affairs 

^ Gachard, " Correspondance dc Philippe II.," v. 29. 
2 Ibid., v. 92. 



494 THE RETURN TO LORRAINE [Bk. xill 

requiring my presence here. I am very glad indeed," 
he adds in a postscript, " to hear that you are in good 
health." 1 

The Prince was evidently impressed by the sound- 
ness of the Duchess's judgment and by her great 
popularity in the Netherlands, for when, a few weeks 
later, he began to realize the hopeless nature of his 
task, and begged for his recall, he repeatedly told 
Philip that, in his opinion, the Duchess of Lorraine 
would be the best person to take his place. 

" The Duchess of Lorraine," he wrote on February 
i6, 1577, " has all the qualities necessary for the 
government of these provinces, which she would 
administer far better than I can, because they are 
beginning to hate me, and I know that I hate them." 

Again, a little later: 

" I find in Madame de Lorraine a real desire to 
serve Your Majesty. She has come to Pont-a- 
Mousson to see if she can be of help to me, and I am 
sure would gladly execute any orders that she may 
receive." 

Christina heard with delight of Don John's joyous 
entry into Brussels on May Day, and received with 
deep thankfulness his letter informing her of the 
departure of the hated Spanish troops. But these 
high hopes were doomed to disappointment. The 
war soon broke out again, and after Don John's 
victory of Gembloux in January, 1578, Madame de 
Lorraine was one of the first persons to whom he 
announced the news by letter .^ Both of the Duchess's 
sons-in-law joined in supporting Don John, and in 
May, 1578, the Duke of Brunswick brought a force 
of 3,000 Germans to join him at Namur. Dorothea 

^ Granvelle, " Correspondance," vi, 521. ^ Ibid., vii. 572. 



Oct., 1578] DEATH OF DON JOHN 495 

accompanied her husband, and was about to pay the 
Prince a visit, when she received a message from 
her brother Charles, informing her of their mother's 
serious illness, and left hastily for Nancy .^ 

Five months afterwards a premature death closed 
the brilliant adventurer's career, and Christina was 
left to grieve over the tragic end of this Prince, of 
whom so much had been expected. 

^ Granvelle, vii. 638. 



BOOK XIV 

THE LADY OF TORTONA 
1578— 1590 



The marriage of her last remaining daughter, and 
the removal of her granddaughter to the French 
Court, loosened the ties that bound the Duchess- 
mother to Lorraine. The failure of the high hopes 
which Don John's coming had aroused were a grievous 
disappointment, and, after her dangerous attack of 
illness in the spring of 1578, Christina decided to 
follow her doctor's advice and seek a warmer climate. 
Her thoughts naturally turned to her dower city of 
Tortona, whose inhabitants still paid her allegiance, 
in spite of Philip's invasion of her privileges. Since 
the Spanish garrison still occupied the castle, the 
magistrates begged her to inhabit the Communal 
palace, and Christina, touched b}'' their expressions 
of loyalty and affection, resolved to accept the 
offer. 

Before settling at Tortona, however, she decided 
to make a pilgrimage to Loreto, the shrine for which 
the Lorraine Princes had always cherished especial 
veneration. Early in August, 1578, she left Nancy 
and travelled across the Alps, and through Savoy, 

496 



Aug., 1578] CHRISTINA RETURNS TO ITALY 497 

by the route which she had taken as a bride, nearly- 
half a century before. Her old friend, the Duchess 
Margaret, whose marriage had been one of the 
happiest results of the Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis, 
had already been dead four years, and her lord of 
the Iron-head was a confirmed invalid ; but he sent 
his son, Charles Emanuel, to meet the Duchess and 
escort her to the citadel of Turin. 

From Savoy, Christina proceeded to Milan, where 
she arrived on the 20th of August, and was hospitably 
entertained in the Castello by the Spanish Viceroy, 
the Marquis d'Ayamonte.^ Once more she drove in 
her chariot through the streets where her coming had 
been hailed by rejoicing multitudes, once more she 
prayed by her husband's tomb in the Duomo and saw 
Leonardo's Cenacolo in Le Grazie. Her old friends. 
Count Massimiliano, the Trivulzi, and Dejanira, were 
dead and gone, and at every step the ghosts of bygone 
days rose up to haunt her memory. Then she 
travelled on by slow stages to Loreto, on the Adriatic 
shore, where she paid her vows at Our Lady's shrine, 
and offered a massive gold heart set with pearls and 
precious gems, to the admiration of future pilgrims. ^ 
But the long journey had overtaxed her strength, 
and when, on her return to Lombardy, she reached 
Ripalta, she was too ill to go any farther. Here 
she remained throughout the winter to recover from 
her fatigues and give the citizens of Tortona time 
to prepare for her reception. 

At length, on the 17th of June, 1579, the Duchess 
made her state entry into the city. The magistrates 
met her at the gates with a stately baldacchino fringed 

^ Granvelle, " Correspondance," vii, 149. 
2 A. Villamont, " Voyages," 70 (1589). 



498 THE LADY OF TORTONA [Bk. XIV 

with gold and silver, and escorted their Sovereign Lady 
to the house of Bartolommeo Busseto, where she 
alighted to partake of the banquet which had been 
prepared. Afterwards the loyal citizens accompanied 
her to the Palazzo Pubblico, halfway up the hill above 
the town, which had been splendidly fitted up for her 
occupation. The beauty of the view delighted the 
Duchess as much as the enthusiastic warmth of her 
reception, and the health-giving breezes of the Lom- 
bard city proved even more beneficial than her 
physicians had expected. " She came to our city of 
Tortona a dying woman, and lived there in health and 
comfort for more than ten years. "-^ So wrote Niccolo 
Montemerlo, the historian whose chronicles of Tor- 
tona were published in 1618, when Christina had not 
yet been dead thirt}/^ years. His contemporaries 
joined with him in praising the Duchess's wise and 
beneficial rule, the strictness with which she ad- 
ministered justice, her liberality and benevolence. 

" The Duchess Christina of Milan," wrote Campo of 
Cremona in 1585, " celebrated for her beauty and 
gracious manners, for her affability and generosity, 
has lately come to spend her widowhood in the city 
of Tortona, and lives there in great splendour, beloved 
byall."2 

Christina's administrative powers found ample 
scope in the government of the city, and under her 
rule Tortona enjoyed a brief spell of peace and pros- 
perity. She reformed abuses, obtained the restitution 
of lost privileges, and healed a long-standing feud 
with the city of Ravenna. At her prayer, Pope 

^ Niccolo Montemerlo, " Nuove Historic di Tortona " (161 8), 

247-253- 

2 A. Campo, " Storia di Cremona," 107; C. Ghilino, " Annali di 
Alessandria," 166; Hilarion de Coste, " Las Eloges," etc., i. 406. 



June, 1579] THE LADY OF TORTONA 499 

Gregory XIII. repealed a decree exacting a heavy fine 
from every citizen of Tortona who entered Ravennese 
territory, and friendly communications were restored 
between the two cities. Before her coming, the Spanish 
Viceroy had incurred great unpopularity by building 
a new citadel on the heights occupied by the ancient 
Duomo and episcopal palace, and converting these 
into barracks and powder-magazines. In 1560 the 
foundations of a new Cathedral were laid by Philip's 
orders in the lower city, but this could not atone in 
the eyes of the citizens for the desecration of the 
venerated shrine founded by St. Innocent in the fourth 
century, and adorned with priceless mosaics and 
marbles. When, in 1609, the lofty campanile was 
struck by lightning, and 400 barrels of gunpowder 
stored in the nave exploded with terrific force, the 
accident was regarded as a Divine judgment, and the 
panic-stricken Spaniards joined in the solemn proces- 
sion that bore the relics of the martyrs from their old 
resting-place to the new sanctuary.^ 

But if Christina could not atone for this indignity, 
or deliver Tortona from the presence of the hated 
Spaniards, she protected her subjects from their 
outrages, and rigidly enforced the observance of the 
law. Many were the petitions and remonstrances 
on behalf of her own rights and those of the citizens 
which she addressed to her dear and illustrious cousin, 
Don Carlos of Aragon, Duke of Terranuova, who 
reigned over the Milanese as Viceroy from 1583 to 
1592. The Duchess was in frequent correspondence 
with her children beyond the Alps, and many requests 
for passes for horses which she is sending to 
Lorraine and Bavaria, as well as for privileges for 

^ Montemerlo, 260; N. Viola, " II Santuario di Tortona," 5. 



500 THE LADY OF TORTONA [Bk. xiv 

her Equerries, Signer Alfonso and Gaspare Visconti, 
are to be found in the archives of Milan .^ 

Many were the illustrious guests, remarks Monte- 
merlo, who came to visit the Duchess at Tortona. In 
October, 1581, the Empress-Dowager Maria, widow 
of Maximilian II., passed through Lombardy on her 
return to Spain, and was received at Alessandria by 
Madame de Lorraine. Together they drove through 
streets hung with tapestries and adorned with trium- 
phal arches, until, after three days' festivities, they 
went on to Tortona, and thence to Genoa. The 
families of the old Milanese nobles who had remained 
loyal to the House of Sforza welcomed Christina's 
return to Lombardy with joy. The nephew and heir 
of Count Massimiliano Stampa placed his superb 
pleasure-house at Montecastello, in the fief of Soncino, 
at her disposal, and named his eldest son Christian 
in her honour. The Guaschi of Alessandria, the Counts 
of Oria, the Trivulzi, the Somaglia and Visconti, vied 
with each other in entertaining her sumptuously .^ 
The saintly Archbishop of Milan, Carlo Borromeo, 
visited her more than once, and the excellent Bishop 
of Tortona, Cesare Gambara, sought her help and 
advice in all that concerned the welfare of his people. 
From the day when, hardly more than a child 
herself, she begged Cardinal Caracciolo's protection 
for the destitute ladies at Pavia, Christina always 
cared for the poor and needy, and in her old age she 
was busy with active works of mercy. One of her 
last good actions was to send to Paris for Madame 
Castellani, a daughter of her old friend the Princess 

^ Feudi Camerali, Tortona, Archivio di Stato, Milano. 

2 Autograft di Principi : Sforza, Archivio di Stato, Milano ; 
G. Porta, " Alessandria Descritta," 161; Merli e Belgrano, " Pal. 
d' Oria," 55. 



Jan., 1585] THE LAST PHAS£ 501 

of Macedonia, who was living in reduced circumstances 
at the French Court, and bring her to Tortona to 
spend the rest of her life in peace and comfort. So 
she earned the love and gratitude of all around her, 
and thousands blessed the good Duchess's name long 
after she was dead. 

II. 

This last phase of Christina's life was on the whole 
peaceful and happy. Brantome pitied this great 
lady, a daughter of Kings and niece of Emperors, 
and the rightful Queen of three kingdoms, who, 
after reigning over Milan and Lorraine, was reduced 
to hold her Court in an insignificant Lombard town, 
and was known in her last years as " Madame de 
Tortone,"^ But after her troubled life Christina was 
grateful for the peace and repose which she found at 
Tortona, and would have been perfectly content if it 
had not been for the continual annoyances to which 
she was exposed by Philip and his Ministers. From 
the moment that she settled in her dower city, the 
King began to dispute her right to its sovereignty, 
and insisted that, since Tortona had been settled 
upon her as an equivalent for the dower given her 
" out of pure liberality " by the late Emperor, she 
was bound to surrender her claims on payment of 
the sum in full. Christina, on her part, maintained 
with good reason that her claim to the city had never 
before been questioned, and that it was settled on her 
at her marriage, and belonged to her and her heirs of 
the House of Lorraine in perpetuity. The assertion 
of this claim roused Cardinal Granvelle to the highest 
indignation. " So dangerous a thing," he wrote to 

^ Brantome, xii. 120. 

33 



502 THE LADY OF TORTONA [Bk. xiv 

Philip, " cannot possibly be allowed." But, as he 
confessed, what made the situation awkward was that 
Madame de Lorraine's claims were strongly supported, 
not only by her son, Duke Charles, but by the Emperor 
Rudolf, the Duke of Bavaria, the Archdukes Ferdinand 
and Charles, and all the Princes of the Empire.^ A 
long wrangle ensued, which ended in a declaration on 
the King's part that he would consent to Tortona 
being retained by the Duchess for her life, and after- 
wards held by her son-in-law and daughter, the Duke 
and Duchess of Brunswick. 

Dorothea and her husband were, in fact, the only 
members of Christina's family for whom Philip showed 
any regard. In 1578 Duke Eric was summoned to 
Spain to join in the contemplated invasion of Portu- 
gal, and served in the campaign led by Alva two years 
later. Dorothea accompanied her husband, and spent 
most of her time at Court. The King evidently liked 
her, and when, after the successful termination of the 
war, the Duke and Duchess came to take leave of 
him at Madrid, Granvelle was desired to draw up a 
secret convention by which Tortona and the revenues 
were assigned to Eric in lieu of the yearly pension 
allowed him. But Dorothea was not to be out- 
witted by the Cardinal. She insisted, on the arrears 
due to her husband being paid in full, and Philip 
himself told Granvelle to see that two or three thou- 
sand crowns of the Duke's salary were given to the 
Duchess, since she was short of money, and this seemed 
to him only reasonable. He also gave Dorothea two 
fine horses, which she wished to send to her brother- 
in-law, the Duke of Bavaria, and granted her a patent 
for working certain gold-mines, which the Cardinal 
^ Granvelle, " Correspondance," x. 65. 



Dec, 1584] DUKE ERIC'S DEATH 503 

promised to forward either to her mother at Tortona, 
or else to the care of the Prince of Orange in Germany.^ 
This last direction sounds strange, considering that 
the famous ban against the Prince, setting a price of 
30,000 crowns on his head, had already been issued 
at Granvelle's suggestion .^ 

The Duke and Duchess now returned to Gottingen, 
after visiting Christina at Tortona, and remained in 
their own dominions for the next few years, among 
their long-neglected subjects. But Eric soon became 
restless, and in April, 1582, Dorothea wrote to beg 
Granvelle's help in obtaining the Viceroyalty of Milan 
or Naples for her husband. The Cardinal promised 
to do his best, and two years later actually recom- 
mended the Duke for the Viceroyalty of Sicily. But 
a few weeks afterwards, on the 15th of December, 
1 584, Eric of Brunswick died at Pavia, and was buried 
in the crypt of Bramante's church of S. Maria 
Canepanova, where his tomb is still to be seen.^ 
The Duke's death released Philip from his promise 
regarding the succession of Tortona. But he had 
already taken the law into his own hands. 

In June, 1584, when Christina and her ladies were 
enjoying the delights of the Marchese Stampa's 
beautiful villa at Montecastello, the Viceroy suddenly 
appeared on the scene, and presented her with two 
letters from His Catholic Majesty. These were to 
inform her that, after long and mature deliberation, 
the King and his Council had come to the conclusion 
that her rights to the sovereignty of Tortona were 
extinct, and reverted to him as Duke of Milan. But 
since Madame de Lorraine was closely bound to him 

^ Granvelle, vii. 225, xii. 581. 2 Groen, vii. 165. 

^ Granvelle, ix. 141, xi. 338. 



504 THE LADY OF tORTONA [Bk. XIV 

by ties of blood, and still more by the singular affec- 
tion which he had always borne her, His Majesty 
was pleased to allow her to retain the enjoyment of 
Tortona and its revenues for the remainder of her 
life, which he hoped would be long and prosperous. 
In vain Christina protested that her dowry had never 
been paid, and that this city was granted to her in its 
stead by the terms of her marriage contract. The 
Viceroy replied in the most courteous language that 
Madame was no doubt right, but that this was not 
his affair, and he could only recommend that on this 
point her claims should be referred to the Treasury.^ 
He then proceeded to take possession of Tortona in 
the King's name, and hoisted the Spanish standard 
on the citadel and the Duchess's palace. Christina 
could only bow to superior force, but she forwarded 
a protest to the Catholic King and his Council, both 
of whom refused to receive it, on the flimsy pretext 
that the writer assumed the title of Queen of Den- 
mark, which they could not recognize. Certainly, 
as Bran tome remarked, and as Polweiler and Silliers 
often complained, Philip showed his great affection 
for his cousin in a strange manner .^ 

Before the Duchess left Montecastello, she received 
the news of the Prince of Orange's assassination at 
Delft on the loth of July, 1 584. The hero and patriot 
had fallen a victim to the plots of Philip and Gran- 
velle, and had paid the price with his life. Three 
years afterwards Christina shared in the thrill of horror 
that ran through Europe when Mary, Queen of Scots, 
died on the scaffold. In that hour she could only be 
thankful that the good old Duchess Antoinette was 

^ Feudi Camerali, Tortona, Archivio di Stato, Milano. 
2 Granvelle, x. 551; Brantome, xii. 114. 



Sept., 1586] DEATH OF GRANVELLE 505 

spared this terrible blow, and had died four years 
before, at the advanced age of eighty-nine. To the 
last Antoinette kept up friendly relations with her 
niece, and in a letter written with her own hand in 
November, 1575, the venerable lady expressed her 
sincere regret that owing to her great age she was 
unable to welcome Christina in person on her return 
to Nancy, but that in the spring she quite hoped to 
come and see her once more before she died.^ 

In 1586 Christina's old rival, Margaret of Parma, 
and this Princess's stanch supporter, Cardinal Gran- 
velle, both died. Friends and foes were falling all 
around, and young and old alike were passing out of 
sight. But the Duchess still enjoyed fair health and 
was so happy at Tortona that she often said she never 
wished to leave home. As a rule, however, she spent 
the summer months at the Rocca di Sparaviera, in 
the mountains of Monferrato, " more," writes the 
chronicler, " to please others than herself." ^ Each 
year she obtained permission from the Viceroy to 
send 250 sacks of wheat, free of duty, for the use of 
her household to the Rocca, and her maggiordomo 
went beforehand to prepare the rooms for her arrival.^ 
The presence of the Duchess Dorothea, who joined 
her mother at Tortona after the Duke of Bruns- 
wick's death, was a great solace in these last 
years, and consoled Christina for many losses and 
sorrows. 

Meanwhile the war of the League had broken out in 
France, and the three Henries were contending for 
the mastery. Since Henry HI. was childless, Cather- 
ine now tried to put forward the claims of a fourth 

^ Pimodan, 322. ^ Montemerlo, 250. 

^ Feudi Camerali, Tortona, Archivio di Stato, Milano. 



So6 THE LADY OF TORTONA [Bk. xiv 

Henry, the eldest son of her daughter Claude and the 
Duke of Lorraine, and a party in France maintained 
his claims to be at least as valid as those which 
Philip IL advanced in virtue of his wife Elizabeth. 
Christina's heart was moved at the thought of her 
grandson succeeding to the throne of France, and in 
1587 she sent a Lorraine gentleman, De Villers, to 
Rome to beg the Pope for his support in this holy 
cause. The Pope, however, merely replied that he 
advised the Duke to live at peace with his neighbours. 
The Duchess, nothing daunted, sent De Villers to 
Nancy with letters bidding her son be of good cheer 
and persevere in his great enterprise. Unfortunately, 
the messenger fell into the hands of Huguenot soldiers, 
who took him into the King of Navarre's camp. All 
that could be found on him was an almost illegible 
letter from Her Highness the Duke's mother, con- 
taining these words : 

" I am very glad to hear of the present state of your 
affairs, and hope that you will go on and prosper, for 
never was there so fine a chance of placing the crown 
upon your head and the sceptre in your hand."^ 

The Bearnais smiled as he read this characteristic 
effusion, and bade his soldiers let the man go free. 
Charles, on his part, expressed considerable annoy- 
ance at his mother's intervention, which only aroused 
the suspicions of King Henry HL, and made him 
look coldly on his brother-in-law. The Duchess's 
last illusion, however, was soon dispelled, and after the 
murder of the Guise brothers at Blois, and the assassi- 
nation of the last Valois, Henry of Navarre was recog- 
nized as King by the greater part of France. 

Christina did not live to see the end of the civil war, 

^ S. Goulart, " Memoires de la Ligue," ii. 213 



Feb., 1J89] AN INTERESTING MARRIAGE 507 

and the union of Henri Quatre's sister with her own 
grandson. But the last year of her life was cheered 
by the marriage of her granddaughter Christina with 
the Grand -Duke Ferdinand of Tuscany, Several 
alliances had been proposed for this Princess since 
she had gone to live at the French Court with her 
grandmother. Catherine was very anxious to marry 
her to Charles Emanuel, who in 1580 succeeded his 
father as Duke of Savoy ; but Spanish influences pre- 
vailed, and the young Prince took the Infanta 
Catherine for his wife .^ In 1583 the Queen-mother 
planned another marriage for her granddaughter, with 
her youngest son, the Duke of Alengon, who had left 
the Netherlands and lost all hope of winning Queen 
Elizabeth's hand; but, fortunately for Christina, the 
death of this worthless Prince in the following June 
put an end to the scheme.^ When, in October, 1586, 
the King of Navarre divorced his wife Margot, Cather- 
ine proposed that her son-in-law should marry her 
granddaughter; but this plan fell through, as Henry 
refused to abjure the Huguenot religion. On the 
death of the Grand-Duke Francis in 1587, his brother 
Ferdinand exchanged a Cardinal's hat for the ducal 
crown, and made proposals of marriage to the Prin- 
cess of Lorraine. Catherine was overjoyed at the 
thought of her beloved Christina reigning in Florence, 
the home of her ancestors, and promised her grand- 
daughter a dowry of 600,000 crowns, with all her 
rights on the Medici estates in Florence, including the 
palace of the Via Larga. Orazio Rucellai was sent to 
France to draw up the contract, which Bassompierre 
signed on the Duke of Lorraine's part, on the 20th of 

^ Ed. Armstrong, " Cambridge Modern History," iii. 413. 
2 Granvelle, " Correspondance," x. 411. 



508 THE LADY OF TORTONA [Bk. xiv 

October, 1588.^ But the state of the country was so 
unsettled that the Queen would not allow her grand- 
daughter to travel, and the fleet which sailed to fetch 
the bride was detained for months in the port of 
Marseilles. The murder of the Duke of Guise at Blois 
in December threw the whole Court into confusion, 
and a fortnight later Catherine herself died, on the 
5th of January, 1589. It was not till the 25th of 
February that the marriage was finally celebrated at 
Blois. In March the bride set out on her journey, 
attended by a brilliant company of French and 
Florentine courtiers. Dorothea of Brunswick came 
to meet Tier niece at Lyons, and accompanied her to 
Marseilles, where Don Pietro de' Medici awaited her 
with his Tuscan galleys, and on the 23rd of April 
Christina at length landed at Leghorn. Ferdinand 
met his bride at the villa of Poggio a Caiano, and con- 
ducted her in triumph to Florence .^ When the pro- 
longed festivities were over. Monsieur de Lenoncourt, 
whom Charles of Lorraine had sent to escort his 
daughter to Florence, went on, by his master's orders, 
to Tortona, " to kiss the hands of the Duke's mother, 
the Queen of Denmark, and receive her commands."^ 
Unlike her mother and grandmother, the Grand- 
Duchess Christina enjoyed a long and prosperous 
married life, and after her husband's death was 
Regent during the minority of both her son and 
grandson. There is an interesting triptych in the 
Prado at Madrid, with portraits of the bride, her 
mother and grandmother, painted by some Bur- 
gundian artist at the time of the wedding. The 

^ A. J. Butler, " Cambridge Modern History," iii. 42. 
2 A. V. Reumont, " Geschichte Toscana's," i. 327-329. 
^ H, Lepage, " Lettres de Charles III.," 93. 




Qi 






< 


u 




§ 


z 




z 


< 




Q 


OS 

o 




fc 






o 


o 




< 


Kl 




z 


m 






U 




H 


S 


'S) 


GO 


u 




Di 


D 
Q 


< 






1 

e5 



Aug., 1590] DEATH OF CHRISTINA 509 

young Grand-Duchess, a tall, handsome girl of four- 
and-twenty, wears a high lace ruff, with ropes of pearls 
round her neck and a jewelled girdle at her waist. 
She carries a fan in her hand, and the Medici palle 
are emblazoned on her shield with the lilies of France 
and the eagles of Lorraine. Her mother, the short- 
lived Duchess Claude, bears a marked resemblance to 
Catherine de' Medici, but is smaller and slighter in 
build, and altogether of a gentler and feebler type. 
She too holds a fan, and wears a gown of rich brocade 
with bodice and sleeves thickly sown with pearls. 
Christina, on the contrary, is clad in mourning robes, 
and her white frilled cap and veil and plain cambric 
ruff are without a single jewel. But the fine features 
and noble presence reveal her high lineage. Instead 
of a fan, she holds a parchment deed in her hand, and 
on her shield the arms of Austria and Denmark are 
quartered with those of Milan and Lorraine, while 
above we read the proud list of her titles — Queen of 
Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, Duchess of Milan, 
Lorraine, Bar, and Calabria, and Lady of Tortona. 

This was the last portrait of Christina that was 
ever painted. In the following summer she went as 
usual to the Rocca of Sparaviera with her daughter 
Dorothea, to spend the hot days of August in the 
hills. But she had not been there long before she 
fell dangerously ill. In her anxiety to return home, 
she took boat and travelled by water as far as Aless- 
andria. There she became too ill to go any farther, 
and died on the loth of August, 1590, in the house of 
her friend Maddalena Guasco.^ 

The Duchess's corpse was borne by night to Tortona, 
where a funeral service was held in the new Duomo, 
^ Montemerlo, 250. 



Sio THE LADY OF TORTONA [Bk. XIV 

after which the body was embalmed and taken by her 
daughter Dorothea to Nancy. The news was sent to 
King PhiHp in Spain, and he and his greedy Ministers 
lost no time in laying hands on her city and revenues. 
" We are informed," wrote the Viceroy to the 
President of the Senate, two days after Christina's 
death, " that Her Most Serene Highness Madame de 
Lorraine has passed to a better life, and accordingly 
we claim the pension of 4,000 crowns assigned to Her 
late Highness, on the quarter of the Castello, and 
enclose a list of the revenues of Tortona, which now 
revert to the Duchy of Milan." ^ 



HL 

The good citizens of Tortona were sorely distressed 
when they learnt that the remains of their beloved 
liege Lady were not to rest among them. But Chris- 
tina's heart was in Lorraine, and her children laid 
her body in the crypt of the Cordeliers' church, in the 
grave of the husband whom she had loved so faithfully 
and so long. Twenty-one years later her ashes were 
removed with those of Duke Francis and his parents^ 
Antoine and Renee, to the sumptuous chapel begun 
by her son Charles in 1607, and completed by his suc- 
cessors. The Rotonde, as it was called in Lorraine, 
was built on the model of the Cappella dei Principi, 
which the Duke's son-in-law, Ferdinand de' Medici, 
had lately reared in Florence, and was dedicated to 
Our Lady of Loreto. It was the work of a Tuscan 
architect, Gianbattista Stabih, and of Jean Ligier 
Richier, the son of the famous Lorraine sculptor, and 
was lined throughout with rich marbles and adorned 
1 Feudi Camerali, Tortona, Archivio di Stato, Milano. 



May, i6o8] DEATH OF CHARLES III. 511 

with a mass of carving.^ The cupola was added in 
1632 by Simon Drouin, and the internal decora- 
tions were only completed in 1743, by order of the 
husband of Maria Theresa, afterwards the Emperor 
Francis I. By this Prince's pious care Latin inscrip- 
tions were placed over each sarcophagus, and the 
following words were carved on the tomb of Christina 
and her husband : 

Francisco I . Lotharingiae . Duci . Bari . Calabriae . virtuti 
bellicae . natus . quas . ei . mors . immatura . prasripuit . laurus 
reddidit . nativa . benignitas . senilis . prudentia . semper . sibi 
similis . sapientia . mortuus . anno . mdxlv. 

Christianas . a . Dainia . Ducis . memorati . thoro . sociatae 
pupilli . Caroli . Ducis . rebus . regendis . strenua . existimatione 
supra . famam . maxima . fata . subiit . anno , mdxc.^ 

Christina's son, Charles III., died, after a long and 
prosperous reign, on the 14th of May, 1608, and was 
tenderly nursed during his last illness by his youngest 
daughter, Catherine, and his sister Dorothea. After 
her mother's death, the Duchess of Brunswick never 
left Lorraine again, and became the wife of a Bur- 
gundian noble. Marc de Rye, Marquis of Varembon.^ 
She only survived her brother four years, and was 
buried in the Jesuit church of St. Stanilas at Nancy. 
Her remains and the heart of Duke Charles, which had 
been interred in the same chapel, were removed to the 
ducal mausoleum in 1772, when some fresh improve- 
ments were made in the Rotonde, by order of Marie 
Antoinette, the daughter of the last Duke of Lor- 
raine and of the Empress Maria Theresa.^ At the 
Revolution, in 1793, these tombs were destroyed and 
their contents rifled by the mob, and the ashes of the 

^ Calmet, iii. 153. 2 pfister, i. 640-647; Calmet, ii. 87. 

* Granvelle, " Papiers d'fitat," vii. 619. * Pfister, i. 652. 



512 THE LADY OF TORTONA [Bk. xiv 

dead Princes were flung into a common grave. In 
1818 they were replaced in their original tombs, the 
sarcophagi were restored, and the old inscriptions 
once more carved in the marble. 

Charles III.'s second daughter, Elizabeth, married 
her first cousin, Maximilian, who succeeded his father 
in 1598, as Duke of Bavaria, and played a memorable 
part in the Thirty Years' War. Her next sister, 
Antoinette, became Duchess of Cleves, while Cather- 
ine, the youngest and most interesting of the whole 
family, took the veil after her father's death. This 
beautiful and accomplished Princess refused all the 
suitors who sought her hand, among them the scholar- 
Emperor, Rudolf n., who found in her a kindred 
spirit. A mystic by nature, Catherine assumed the 
grey Capucin habit while she lived at her father's 
Court, and, after he died, founded a Capucin convent 
in Nancy. The Pope appointed her Abbess of 
Remiremont, a Benedictine community of high-born 
ladies, which she endeavoured to reform. She was 
much attached to her aunt Dorothea, and after her 
death spent most of her time at the Court of France 
with her niece Margaret, the wife of Gaston, Duke of 
Orleans. Catherine took an active part in French 
politics in the stormy days of Louis XHL, and died 
in Paris in 1648, at the age of seventy-five.^ 

The seventeenth century witnessed the gradual dis- 
memberment of the duchy of Lorraine, and in Rich- 
lieu 's days Nancy was again occupied by French 
invaders. At length, in 1736, the last Duke, 
Francis IIL, was compelled to surrender Lorraine 
in exchange for the grand-duchy of Tuscany, on his 
marriage with Maria Theresa, the only child of the 
^ Calmet, ii. 153; Pfister, ii. 734. 



1736] THE LAST DUKE OF LORRAINE 513 

Emperor Charles VL From that time Lorraine 
ceased to exist as an independent State, and became 
a province of France, while the ex- King Stanislas 
of Poland fixed his residence at Nancy and trans- 
formed the ancient capital into a modern city. By 
this marriage the House of Lorraine became merged 
in the imperial line of Habsburg, and the blood of 
King Rene still flows in the veins of the Austrian 
Emperor and of the royal families of Savoy and Spain. 
Christina would have rejoiced to know, that this 
union — a love-match like her own — was followed 
shortly by the elevation of Maria Theresa's husband 
to the imperial throne, and that by this means the 
House of Habsburg was raised to a height of power 
and splendour which it had never attained since the 
days of Charles V. For although she married twice 
into princely houses, and was much attached both to 
Milan and Lorraine, Christina was before all else 
a Habsburg, and the glory and welfare of the imperial 
race remained throughout her life the first object 
of her thoughts. Like Mary of Hungary and Eleanor 
of France, she grew up in absolute obedience to the 
Emperor's will, and wherever she went in after-years 
his word was still her law. In the darkest hours of 
her life, when she lost son and State at one blow, 
it was her greatest sorrow to feel that she could no 
longer be of service to the Emperor and his house. 
After the abdication of Charles V., this love and 
loyalty were transferred to Philip II., and her one 
fear was lest her son should be drawn into the oppo- 
site camp, and become French in his sympathies. 
And to the end she was always quick to obey the call 
of blood and respond to any appeal from a member of 
the House of Austria. 



514 THE LADY OF TORTONA [Bk. xiv 

This strong family affection gave an added bitter- 
ness to the neglect and injustice which she suffered 
at Philip's hands during the last thirty years of her 
existence. One reason for his persistently harsh 
usage was, there can be no doubt, that Christina 
represented the national feeling and aspirations after 
freedom, which Philip and his ministers, Alva and 
Granvelle, did all in their power to crush. Both in 
the Netherlands, where the popularity of the great 
Emperor's niece made her dangerous in their eyes, 
and in Lombardy, where she filled an important 
position as Lady of Tortona, she came into collision 
with the same all-reaching arm. To the last she 
strove valiantly to resist the tyranny of Spanish 
of&cials and to protect her subjects from the rapacity 
of foreign soldiers, and a century after her death the 
citizens of Tortona still cherished the memory of the 
noble lady who, as long as she lived, had preserved 
them from the yoke of Spain. 

Christina's lot was cast in troubled times, when 
crime and bloodshed were rife, and religious con- 
victions only served to heighten the violence of men's 
passions ; but her name shines pure and unsullied 
on these dark pages of history. She was naturally 
hasty and impulsive, she made some mistakes and 
met with many failures, but she was always generous 
and high-minded, faithful and affectionate to her 
friends, and full of ardent charity for the poor and 
downtrodden. Above all, her unceasing labours in 
the cause of peace justly earned the gratitude of her 
contemporaries, and deserve to be remembered by 
posterity. 

At the close of this long and eventful life we turn 
back once more to Holbein's portrait of the youthful 



I590] CHRISTINA'S RARE CHARM Si5 

Duchess. As we look at the grave eyes and innocent 
face, we ask ourselves what was the secret of this 
woman's power, of the strange fascination which she 
possessed for men and leaders of men. What made 
heroes like Rene of Orange, and daredevils like 
Albert of Brandenburg, count the world well lost 
for love of her ? Why were brave captains and 
brilliant courtiers — Stampa, Vend6me, De Courrieres, 
Polweiler, Adolf of Holstein — all of them her wilHng 
slaves from the moment that they saw her face and 
heard the sound of her voice ? What drew thoughtful 
men like William of Orange and Emanuel Philibert 
into the circle of her intimate friends, and brought 
even the cold-hearted Philip under her spell ? It 
was hardly her beauty, for she had many rivals, or 
her superior intellect and exalted birth. Rather was 
it the rare and indefinable quality that we call charm, 
the sweet womanliness of nature, the gentle. sym- 
pathy and quick response of heart and eye, ready at 
any moment to listen and to help, to comfort and to 
cheer. This, if we mistake not, was the secret of 
Christina's wonderful influence, of the attraction 
which she possessed for men and women alike, an 
attraction which outlived the days of youth and 
endured to the last hour of her life. Ever loving, she 
was therefore ever beloved. 



APPENDIX 
A SELECTION OF UNPUBLISHED DOCUMENTS 

I. 

Christina, Duchess of Milan, to Francesco II., Duke of Milan. 

MoNSiGNORE mio cordialissimo marito : Ho bene veduto vplun- 
tieri, come sempre sono accostumata, le sue care littere del 
20, ma di molto megliora voglia haveria voluto veder la pre- 
sentia sua, come speranza mi fu data di breve esser, et per 
dire la vera verita ormai quelli Signori cominciano haver pui 
che torto. Pur mi voglio contentar di quello che la ragione 
consiglia che si faci, et quella dimora che V. S. judicara esser 
bene per tutti, lo havero anche io per accepto, ringratiandola 
de le sue cortese excusationi per la tardezza del ritorno, ma 
non savendogli gratia di quello che la mi scrive, ch'io no 
prende pena di scriverli di mia mano, perche questo e solo 
ben speso tempo, et a me agredable quanto cu V. S, parla, 
almeno per scriptura di propria mano, non potendo la per hora 
partialmente goder. In bona gratia sua senza fine riccoman'"' 
cum ricordo del presto e sano ritorno, cosi N. S. Dio degni di 
conservarlo longamente. Mlo. li 7. Zugno. 1535. 

Vostra tres humble consorte, 

Cristierna. 

A Monsignore cordiall™° mio consorte 
le Duca de Millano. 

[Autografi di Principi, Sforza, Archivio di Stato, Milano. ] 



11. 

Christina, Duchess-Dowager of Milan, to Cardinal Caracciolo, 
Governor of Milan. 

QueUo affettione chio conosco V. R^^ S"* portarmi, et il 
buon conto che la tene di me fa ch' io non possi cessar de 
desiderar' ogn' hora la salute et comodo lei : Ver ho la prego 

, 516 



APPENDIX < 517 

esser contento darmi nova come la si e portata in questa sua 
andata et di preste si trova. Che di resto maggior consola- 
tione no' potrei havere che saper di sua bona valetudine. 
Appresso: benche sappia non essere bisogno, nondimeno no' 
cessero di' ricordar k V. R'"^ Sig"« el caso mio. Per il quale 
pregola a far presso la Cses"^®^ M'^ mio supremo S'^" quelle che 
de la singulari bonta sua sumamento mi prometto; Et perche 
tra tutte 1' altre cose molto desidero il ben et honor della S^a 
Dorothea. Perho la sara contenta per il particolar sua 
operar con Sia M'^ tanto efficamente quanto glie sia poss'^, 
acci6 che col bon meggio lei me venghi essere esauditi; assi- 
carando V. R""^ S^^ chio stimavo il comodo dessa S"^ Dorothea 
mio proprio. Parmi anchora non solamente ragionevole ma 
ex debito, che essendo compito il corso del integro anno che'l 
111'"° et Ex^no di felicissima memoria, S^^ Duca, gia mio Consorte 
passeva di questa vita, si ne debbi anch' io tener memoria et 
fargli far il debito anniversario. Perho prego V. K'"^ Sig^a 
esser contenta supplicar Sua M'^ j^ mio nome, che commetti 
et ordino accio che detto anniversario sia fatto nel modo che 
debitamente si conviene e son certiss"^ ^he Sua M'^ nomo 
negar di fare cosi exequire. Non me occorrendo per hora altro, 
a V. Rn'a S'^a moltc me ricom" et offero. Pregando N. S. Dio 
che gli doni presto et bon ritorno. Di Mio. el xiiii, de' Ottobre, 
MDXXXVI. 

Vostra buona figliola, 

Chrestienne. 

Al Rmo et 111™ S™ Car'e Caracciolo, 
Locotente generale di Sua M*^ ael 
Stato de Mio. come Patre osser=^°. 
In Corte di Sua M*^ a Genoa. 

[Autografi di Principi, Sforza, Archivio di Stato, Milano.] 



III. 

Christina, Duchess-Dowager of Milan, io Cardinal Caracciolo, 
Governor of Milan. 

R^° et mio quanto Patre honorando: Ho presentito per 
certo che in la hosteria de la Eon tana se gli ritrova una bellissi- 
ma chinea learda, manco bona che di apparenza bella, et 
perche me ritrova haverne bisogno de una per la Persona mia, 
ho voluto cu ogni confidenza indrizzar' questa et el presente 
mio lachayo a V. S. R^^a pregandola che se consensi di conten- 

34 



5i8 APPENDIX 

tarme che I'habia; et cometti el pagamento fuori di la spesa 
ordinario del rollo stabilito, perche se potea mettere nel 
numero de li debiti ch' andarano pagati per altro conto, et 
questo recevero per singular placer da V. S. R""^, in bona 
gratia de la quelli me reco<i°. Dal Castello de Pavia, al 3° di 
Genaro, nel 1537. De V. S. R"^ comme bonne fille, 

Crestienne, 

Al Rmo Car's Caracciolo, Governator 
de Mlo. quanto pre honor''°. Cito, 
cito. 

[Autografi di Principi, Sforza, Archivio di Stato, Milano.] 



IV. 

Antoinette de Bourbon, Duchesse de Guise, to Mary, Queen of 

Scotland. 

... La sante de votre petit fils est aussi bonne que lui fut 
onques. II mange fort bien, et Ton le mene souvent a les 
ebats que me semble lui fait grant bien. II me semble vous 
trouverez cru et devenu gras. Quant au reste de n're menage, 
v're scEur est tou jours malade de sa fievre et a iii cette semaine 
pass6e bien mal d'un flux de ventre qui I'a fort affoiblie. II 
y a bien huit jours qu'eUe ne bouge point du lit. Depuis 
hier le flux corn^se a passer, de la fievre je ne vois pas grant 
amendement. . . . V""^ frere Claude a ete aussy malade 
jusqu'^ la mort. . . . V^e soeur Anthoinette est aussy malade 
d'une fievre et d'un rhume. ... Je vous avise quo Madame 
V^ tante est mandee pour aUer a la cour h. la venue de la 
Reyne de Hongrie, qui doit bientost estre ^ Compiegne, ou le 
Roy et toute la Court doit estre en peu de jours. Je m'en 
suis excusee pour 1' amour de mes malades. II n'y a que deux 
jours que le gentilhomme du Roy d'Angleterre qui fut au 
Havre et le paintre, a ete ici. Le gentilhomme vint vers moi, 
faisant semblant venir de trouver I'Empereur, et que ayant su 
Louise malade, il n'avait vouUu passer sans la voir, afin d'en 
savoir dire de nouveUes au Roy son maistre, me priant qu'il 
la pent voir, ce qu'il fit, et c'estait le jour de sa fievre. II lui 
tint pareil propos qu'a moi, puis me dit qu'estant si pres 
de Lorrayne, il avait envye d'aller jusques k Nancy, voir le 
pays. Je ne me donte incontyment il y allait voir la demoy- 
selle peur la tirer comme les aultres et pour eel a j'ai envoye 
a leur logis, voir qui y etait, et j'ai trouv6 le dit paintre y 



APPENDIX ' 519 

etait, et de la ils ont este a Nancy et y ont reste un jour, et ont 
ete fort festes, et le Maistre d'hotel venait a tous les repas 
manger avec eux, avec force presents, et ils etaient tres bien 
traites. Voil^ ce que j'ay entendu, done au pis aller, si vous 
n'avez pour voisine v^^ soeur, ce pourrait estre v^^ cousine. 
II se tient quel que propos que I'Empereur off re recompense 
pour le duche de Gueldres, et que ce faisant, se pourrait faire 
quelque mariage de la fille de Hongrie et de Mons"^ le Marquys. 
Mons"^ vre pere entend bien, ce faisant, avoir sa part en la dite 
recompense. Je voudrais qu'il en fust bien recompense. 
Voila tout ce que j'ay de nouveau . . . je me doute que vous 
ne ferez de si bonne diligence que moi, car je sais bien que 
vous tenez de Mons'^ v'tre pere, et qu'estes paresseuse ^ ecrire, 
si I'air d'Ecosse ne vous a change. Je n'ai encore eu que 
vos premyeres. II me tarde bien savoir comme depuis vous 
vous serez porte, cela me sera grant joye quand je pourrait 
ouir de vos nouvelles. Ce sera toujours quant N''^^ Seigneur 
le veuille, et je prie, Madame, qu'il vous donne longue et bonne 
vie. Ce premier de Septembre, de v'tre humble et bonne 
mere, 

Anthoinette de Bourbon. 

A la Reyne d'Ecosse, 

[Balcarres MSS. , ii. 20. Advocates' Library, Edinburgh.] 



V. 

Antoinette de Bourbon, Duchesse de Guise, to Mary, Queen of 

Scotland. 

Madame: J'ay tarde plus longuement que je ne pensais k 
vous escrire, mais les noces de Mademoiselle de Lorraine nous 
ont tant ameusees que jusque k cette heure on a pent avoir 
le loisir. Nous departismes hier de la compaignye qui a este 
bien grosse. Les noces furent Mardy passe. Mons"^ le Prince 
y est venu bien accompaigne et je vous assure c'est un bien 
honeste Prince et de bonne grace. II se contente fort de sa 
mye, et aussi elle de lui. Ils s'entendent aller chez eux dans 
XV. jours. La feste a este a Bar, il n'y a eu gueres d'estrangers, 
fors la Marquise de Baulde et Madame de Bagin, et des Com- 
tesses et dames voisines. Vous en saurez quelque jour plus 
au long. Nous sommes en chemin pour aUer k Guise, pensant 
en estre de retour pour la Toussaint. Nous laissons n'tre petit 
fils ^ Roche. II court tant de maladie que nous n'avons ose 



520 APPENDIX 

le mettre en chemin, mais je vous assure il se porte bien. . . . 
Je vous avals escrit par Saint-Genould, du mariage de v're 
frere, mais j'entens qu'il ne part pas si tost comma il m'avait 
dit, pourquoi je veulx vous dire ce qui en est et cc^^ le Roy 
veult faire le mariage de luy et de la nyece du Pape, fille du 

Due de je ne puis retrouver son nom, mais elle est belle,_^ 

et honeste et a bonne grace, et est d'ancienne maison, de 
I'age de xv. ans. L'on luy donne trois cent mille francs en 
mariage, elle n'a que ung frere, s'il meurt elle serait heritiere de 
quarante mille livres et d'un Duche et aultre terres. Je pense 
entre ceci et la Toussaint il en sera fait ou failli. Je prends 
grand plaisir entendre par vos lettres le bon portement du Roy, 
de vous et du petit prince. . . . Nous sommes prets a 
monter a cheval, pourquoi ferais fin. . . . Ce penultieme 
d'Aoust. 

V"^^ humble et bo"^ mere, 

Anthoinette de Borbon. 

A la Reyne d'^cosse. 

[Balcarres MSS., ii. 15. Advocates' Library, Edinburgh.] 



VL 

Antoinette de Bourbon, Duchesse de Guise, to Mary, Queen of 

Scotland. 

Madame: L'on m'a tant assure qu'on envoye les lettres 
surement par le moyen des Marchands d'Anvers, que je les 
ai mis h. 1' entree pour en apprendre le chemin. Vostre soeur 
en doit estre la messagere. Je vous ai escrit la conclusion de 
son mariage et envoye les articles et depuis ses noces par 
vostre brodeur. Je viens de la mener en menage, en une 
belle et honneste maison et aultant bien meublee qu'il est 
possible, nomme Beaumoult. Son beau-pere la receuillit tant 
honorablement et avec tant de gens de bien et grosse com- 
paignye que Ton ne salt plus souhaiter ; la Rejme de Hongrerie 
entre les aultres s'y trouvait et la Duchesse de Myllan, aussi 
Monsr et Madame la Princesse d'Orange, qui Ton tient grosse, 
toute fois la chose n'est pas fort sure, et pour ma part j'en 
doute. II me semble v're dite soeur est bien logee. L'on luy 
a fait de beau presens, et elle a de belles basques. Son Mary 
est jeune, mais il a bon vouloir d'estre du nombre des gens de 
bien. II ne paraissait point qu'il fut Caresme, car les armes et 
les tambours ne cessaient point; il s'y est fait de beaux joustes 



APPENDIX 521 

14 bas. A la fin il a fallu departir, qui n'a pas este sans 
larmes. Je regagne ce lieu de Guyse, ou je ne reste qu'une 
nuit, et demain 4 la Fere, oii Mons"" le Cardinal mon frere et 
mon pere et ma soeur de S* Pol seront mercredy, et vendredy 
recommencerai me mettre en chemin pour gagner Joinvylle 
le plus tost que je pourrais, Je pense trouver encore Mons*" 
V''® pere, et nos enfans, savoir les petits et les pretres. . . . 
Ce xiiii Mars, a Guise. . . . 

Anthoinette de Bourbon. 

A la Reyne d'ficosse, 

[Balcarres MSS., ii. 5. Advocates' Library, Edinburgh.] 



VII. 

Louise de Lorraine, Princesse de Chimay, to Mary, Queen oj 

Scotland. 

Madame : Depuys que Dieu a tant faict pour moi que de me 
donner un bon Mary, je n'ai point eu loisir de vous en faire la 
part. Vous pouvez estre assuree que je me tiens en ce monde 
heureuse d'estre en la maison ou je suis, car avec la grandeur 
qu'il y a en tout, j'ai un seigneur et beau-pere que je vous puis 
nommer bon, car il me faict un bien bon traitement, accom- 
pagne de tant de beaux presents, qu'il me faudroy employer 
trois feuilles de papier avant que je vous pourrais en rendre 
bon conte et qui sera, s'il vous plait, occasion de prendre 
contentement du bien de votre soeur, qui a commandement de 
vous offrir les tres humble services des maistres et seigneurs 
de cette maison, vous suppliant a tout endroit les employer. 
Nous avons une tres sage et vertueuse Reyne, et je ne puis 
vous dire I'honneur qu'elle me faict, car estant venue expres 
4 cette maison — ^la, sienne et notre — elle m'a voulu prendre 
pour sa tres humble fille et servante, et veulst que pour 
I'avenyr je dois estre tou jours en sa compagnye, ou pour le 
peu que j'y ai este m'a fayct fort grant chere. Madame la 
Duchesse de Mylan m'a dit le semblable, qui est la meilleure, 
et nous esperons bientost la voir en Lorajme, car le maryage 
de Mons"" le Marquys et d'elle, est en tres bon train. Depuis 
que Madame ma mere est retournee, elle m'a envoyee une 
lettre pour essayer si le chemin de ga luy sera plus aise que 
I'autre, et si'il vous plait de m'apprendre de vos nouvelles, je 
serai merveilleusement aise. Mais il faudra, Madame que a 
la lettre que vous m'enverrez, vous mettiez sur le paquet, 
" Au Due d'Aerschot," et par les marchands qui viennent 



522 APPENDIX 

d'Ecosse, il vous sera aise, car en les laissant k An vers ou a 
Bruges, ou autre endroit du Pays, ne failleront point, en 
s'adressant k Mons"^ mon beau-pere, de tomber entre mes 
mains, car il est grandement craint et aime par dega, qui sera 
I'endroit oii je supplye Dieu qu'il vous donne tres bonne vie 
et longue. De Beaumont, ce xxv. jour de Mars. 

V're tres humble et tres obeissante soeur, 

Louise de Lorrayne. 

[Balcarres MSS., ii. 153. Advocates' Library, Edinburgh,] 



VIII. 

Antoinette de Bourbon, Duchesse de Guise, to Mary, Queen of 

Scotland. 

Madame: Je suis tres aise que ce porteur soit venu par ici, 
pour s'en retourner vers vous, car je vous voullais escrire et 
envoyer un paquet. ... Je desire bien fort savoir comme 
vous vous serez porte en v're couche et aussi comme le Roy et 
v're petit prince se portent. Je prie a N. S. a tons donner 
bonne sante et longue vie. Quant a notre coste, tout se porte 
bien, Dieu mercy ! Mon"" v're pere est revenu depuis huit 
jours pour quelques bastyments et fortifications que le Roy 
lui a ordonne faire en cette frontiere. J 'ay este tres aise il 
ait cette charge, afin de I'avoir plus tost de retour. Quant 
a v're petit fils, il se porte bien et devient grand ; il commence 
tres bien apprendre, et sait quasi son Pater noster, il est joli et 
bon enfant. J'ai este cause qu'il n'est venu en ce lien, dans 
la pour des Rougeolles, qui regnent si fort, et je crains il les 
prends par les champs, ou il ne peut estre si bien traiste qu'a 
Joinvylle, et aussi que ne devons demeurer dans ce lieu que 
huit jours. . . . Nous attendons M. le Cardinal de Lorraine 
le iii d'Aout. II vient pour nous tons ensemble trouver au 
Pont-a-Mousson le huitieme du dit mois, on se doit faire le 
premyer recueil de n'tre nouvelle Dame, pour la men er a Nancy. 
V're frere aussi vient avec M. le Cardinal, Ton doit faire grande 
chere a cette bien venue, et force tournois. Les noces furent 
il y a Dimanche huit jours. S'il s'y fait rien digne de vous 
faire part vous en serez avertie. J'ai bonne envye de voir si 
Mons"" le Marquis sera bon Mary ! L'on se jouit fort au pays 
recevoir une si honneste Princesse . . . ce xx. Juillet de . . . ec. 

Anthoinette de Bourbon. 

A la Reyne d'^fecosse. 

[Balcarres MSS., ii. 4. Advocates' Library, Edinburgh.] 



APPENDIX , 523 



IX. 

Christina, Duchess-Dowager of Lorraine, to Mary, Queen of 

Hungary, 

18 Avril, 1552. 

Madame: J'ay escrit une letter 4 votre Majeste pour avoir 
moyen d'avertir celle-ci et la Reine vostre soeur de la me- 
chancete que lis Roy de France m'a faict, que sur ombre de 
bonne foy me emmene mon filz avecque grande rudesse, comme 
Vostre Majeste entendra par ce present porteur plus au long. 
Suppliant Vostre Majeste ne prendra de mauvaise part sy 
je ne faict ceste lettre plus longue, car la grande facherie que 
j'ay, m'en garde. Sy este, Madame, que je supplie k Vostre 
Majeste avoir pitie de moy, et m'assister de quelque conseil, et 
je n'oublyerai k jamais luy faire tres humble service et vous 
obeir toute ma vie, comme celle quy desire demeurer 4 jamais, 
Vostre tres humble et tres obeissante 
niece et servante, 

Chrestienne. 

[Lettres des Seigneurs, loi, f. 332. Archives du Royaume, Bruxelles.] 



X. 

Anne, Duchess-Dowager of Aerschot,Jto Mary, Queen of 
Hungary. 

18 Avril, 1552. 

Madame: Je ne saurais vous escrire la grande desolation en 
laquelle est presentement Madame ma sceur, constitue par la 
grande rudesse et cruaute que le jour du grand Vendredy luy 
a este faicte par le Roy de France, qui est qu'il este venu icy 
sous ombre de bonne foy et vrai amitie, comme dernierement 
il nous avoit fait entendre. A son arrivee, il a est^ regu 
avecque tous les honneurs possible, et le meilleur traistement, 
et le dit jour du grand Vendredy il fit entendre a Madame 
comme pour satisfaire au capitulations de la Ligue, il falloit 
qu'il s'assurait de Monseigneur le due de Lorraine, et de ses 
places, et que pour ce faire il falloit qu'il fust transports a 
Bar, pour a quoy obvier. Ma dicte dame, Monseigneur de 
Vaudemont et moy, et tous ceux de son conseil, Itiy fust faicte 
une remonstrance la plus humble qu'il estoit possible. A 



$24 APPENDIX 

quoy il e repondit aultre chose sinon qu'il hateroit sa resolu- 
tion par escrit, ce qu'il a faict, comme votre Majeste pourra 
voire par les articles que je vous envoye. Ce voyant, elle et 
moy Tallames trouver en la Grande Galerie ou ma dite dame 
parla encore a luy, jusqu'^ se mettre a genoux, luy requerant 
pour I'amour de Dieu ne transporter son filz, et ne le luy oter. 
A quoi ne fit response, et pour conclusion, Madame, le lende- 
main Samedy, veille de Paques, il Font emmene, accompagne 
de force gens de guerre, sous la charge du S"" de Bourdillon, 
mais le Marechal de Saint Andre n'a bouge qu'il ne I'ait 
mis hors de la ville, et c'6toit pitie voire Madame sa mere, 
Monseigneur de Vaudement et toute la noblesse et le pauvre 
peuple faire leur lamentation. Et voyant Madame ma sceur 
en telle pitie, etant en telle douleur, Madame, que votre 
Majeste peult estimer pour ly avoir faict une telle outrage que 
de luy oter son fil25, et la voyant porter tel desplaisir, moy que 
m'estait delibere m'en partir, ne la puis delaisser. Le Roy luy 
laisse Mesdames ses filles et 1' administration des biens, comme 
elle avait auparavant, reserve les places fortes, qui demeurent 
a la charge de Monseigneur de Vaudemont, a condition que 
Votre Majeste pourra voire, toutefois n'y demeurra que 
Lorrains. Et par ce que Madame j'ai toujours en vie de faire 
service a Votre Majeste tel que j'ai toute ma vie desire, il luy 
plaira me commander ce que je fasse, et vous serez obey 
comme la plus affectionee servante que Votre Majeste aura 
jamais. Suppliant Notre Seigneur donner a celle tres bonne 
et longue vie, me recommandant toujours tres humblement, 
en sa bonne grace. De Nancy, ce lendemain de Paques. 

Anne de Lorraine. 

Madame: Depuis avoir escrit a Votre Majeste, le Roy de 
France a escrit une lettre a Madame ma soeur comme il a eu 
avertissement que les Bourgnignons faisaient une entreprise 
pour aller a Bar, afin d'y surprendre Monsieur de Lorraine, et 
que pour obvier a cela, il a ordonne au S"" de Bourdillon le 
mener a Joinville, ou la Royne de France est encor la. 

[Lettres des Seigneurs, loi, f. 330. Archives du Royaume, Bruxelles.l 



APPENDIX 525 



XL 

Christina, Duchess-Dowager of Lorraine, to the Emperor 
Charles V. 

A I'Empereur. Monseigneur : A la priere de Monseigneur de 
Vaudemont mon frere et de la Duchesse d'Aerscot ma soeur, 
j'ay pris la hardiesse de demeurer, encore que Vostre Majeste 
m'avait escript et commande que je me retirasse vers les 
Roynes, ce que j'espere que Vostre Majeste n'aures pas pris 
de mauvaise part. Car la grande instance et priere que 
mon dit frere et soeur m'ont faict, ont este la cause, non pas 
pour aller centre son commandement, le Voulant obeir toute 
ma vie, et je vous supplie, de toujours le croire, et avoir mon 
filz et son pais pour recommande, et je supplieray le Createur, 
Monseigneur, de donner a Vostre Majeste bonne sante et tres 
longue vie. De Denoeuvre, ce 26^ May, 1552. 

Vostre tres humble et tres obeissante 
niece et servante, 

Chrestienne. 

[Lettres des Seigneurs, 102, f, 127. Archives du Royaume, Bruxelles.] 



XII. 

Christina, Duchess-Dowager of Lorraine, to the Emperor 
Charles V. 

A I'Empereur. Monseigneur: J'ay re^u la lettre qu'il a plu 
a Vostre Majeste m'escrire par le Seigneur de Carondelet, et 
par luy ay entendu la bonne souvenance qu'il a plu a Vostre 
Majeste avoir de moy et mes filles, de la bonne visitation, dont 
tres humblement la remercie, et aussi de la charge que Vostre 
Majeste luy a donne pour me dire ce qu'il me faudra ensuivre. 
Votre Majeste m'oblige tant de I'honneur qu'elle me faict, 
que toute ma vie je seray preste k ob^ir a ses commandements, 
comme celle entendra s'il luy plait plus au long par le dit 
Seigneur de Carondelet, et aussi d'autres choses que luy ay 
donne charge de dire a Vostre Majeste, pour ne pas la facher 
de longue lettre. Et toute ma vie je suppliray le Createur de 



526 APPENDIX 

donner k Vostre Majeste tres bonne sante, et longue vie et de 
demeurer toujours a la bonne grace d'icelle. De Hoch- 
Konigsberg, ce 4^ Septembre, 1552. 

Vostre tres humble niece et servante, 

Chrestienne. 

[Lettres des Seigneurs, 103, f. 518. Archives du Royaume, Bruxelles.] 



XIII. 

Dejanira Commena Contessa Trivulzio to Messer Innocenzio 

Gadio. 

Magnifico Signore, Innocenzio: Ho ricevuto un altra vostra, 
inteso la morte del Magnifico Signor Belloni, che certo mi ha 
dato molto fastidio. lo sono certa che la Signora mia madre 
me havera havuto grandissimo dispiacere, come risentir^ la 
morte e privation e di tale amico. Pero non si puo resist ere 
al Drvino volere. Mi maraviglia molto non habbiati avuto 
la littera mia qual mandai aUi di passati, in mane di Barile, 
pero di novo vi dico che ho ricevuto la corona ed altre cose 
per Andronica, et le littere della Signore Madre, et cosi vi 
rimand6 la risposta. Sareti contenti basare le mane in mio 
nome a Sua ExceUentia, dicendoli che mi duole fino all' anima, 
dalle travaglie che patisse Sua ExceUentia in queUe bande, et 
che siamo sempre apparentiati come servitori che li giurano 
esponere la vita et quanto tenemo in suo serviggio. Non mi 
occorrente altro a Vostra Signoria mi raccomando. De 
Codogno all, 29. Sett, 1552. Di Vostra Sig. Dejanira, 
Contessa Trivultia. 

A Messer Inn. Gadio, amico carissimo. 

[MS. No. 18, Biblioteca di Zelada, Pavia.] 



XIV. 

Christina, Duchess-Dowager of Lorraine, to Mary, Queen oj 

England. 

April, 1555. 

Madame: Je supplie V"'^ Maj'^ me pardonner si je prends 
tant d'audace que d'escrire a icelle, mais tant d'honneur et de 
faveur que je recois de V"^^ Maj'^ en est cause. Car je ne puis 



APPENDIX , 527 

laisser d'avertir que le Capitaine de mon vaisseau qui me mene 
a si bien faict son devoyr, sans nul hasart, comme V"'^ Majt^ 
lui a faict command e, que je ne puis laisser d'en avertir V*''^ 
Maj'^ et la supplier de I'avoyr en souvenance. Et puis 
j'assure V"'^ Maj'^, que je n'en ai regu que d'entier bon service, 
et connaissant cela, n'ay su laisser de le recommander a V^^^^ 
Maj'e et pensant que le Capitaine Bont vous fera entendre ce 
qui s'est pass6 a mon passage, je n'en ferai plus propos, si non 
de vous assurer combien je regrette de ne plus estre dans la 
presence de V''^ Maj'^ et que je ne puis estre aupres d'icelle, 
pour luy pouvoir faire quelque service, pour la satisfaction 
que je me ferais a tant de mercis que j'ay regu, dont je demeure 
sans espoir d'y satisfaire. Et cependant je supplie tres hum- 
blement a V""^ Maj'^ me tenir en sa bonne grace, a la quelle 
humblement me recommande, et baisant ses mains, priant 
Dieu, Madame, Vous donner bonne sante, tres longue vie et 
ung beau filz, comme le desire. 

V''^ tres humble et tres obeissante 
cousine et servante, 

Chrestienne. 

A la Reyne. 
[MS. State Papers, Foreign, Mary, vol. vi., 351. Public Record Office.] 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 
MANUSCRIPT SOURCES 

Archivio di Stato, Milano: Autografi di Principi; Carteggio 
Diplomatico, 1533-1535; Carteggio con Montmorency, Conte 
di Corea, 153 7-1538; Feudi Camerali, Tortona; Potenze 
Sovrane, i533-i534- 

BiBLiOTECA Ambrosiana : Continuazione della Storia di Corio, 
O. 240. 

Mused Civico di Storia Patria, Pa via: No. 426, Lettere dell' 
Oratore, 1535 ; No. 546, di B. d. Corte, 1536. 

BiBLIOTECA DEL CONTE AnTONIO CaVAGNA SaNGIULIANI A ZELADA, 

PRESso Pa VIA : Archivio Sezione Storico, Diplomatico. Mazzo 
n. 127, Tortona; Lettere di Niccol6 Belloni, etc., i.-xviii. 

Archives du Royaume, Bruxelles: Lettres des Seigneurs, iii.- 
vii. ; Papiers d'Etat de I'Audience, No. 82; Correspondance 
de Charles V. avec Jean de Montmorency, Seigneur de Cour- 
rieres, 1537; No. 8, 26, 1178, etc., Lettres de Marie de Hongrie, 
Charles Quint, etc.; Registre des Revenus et Depenses de 
Charles V.; Registre de Marguerite d'Autriche, 1799, 1800, 
1803. 

Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris: AfEaires d'Angleterre, xix.; 
F.F. 123, 20,467, 20,468; Oudin, Histoire des Guises; MS. 
Gaignieres 349; Marillac MS. 8,625 ; Coll. de Lorraine, 27-33, 
etc. 

Advocates' Library, Edinburgh: The Balcarres Manuscripts, 
ii., iii. ; Correspondance de Madame de Guise, etc., avec la 
Reine d'Ecosse. 

British Museum : Additional Manuscripts, 5,498 ; Harleian Manu- 
scripts, 3,310, 3,311 ; F. Roddi, Annali di Ferrara. 

Public Record Office: State Papers, Foreign, Mary, vi. 351; 
Venetian Despatches, 1553-1558; Brussels Transcripts, 1553- 
1558. 

PRINTED SOURCES 

Alberi, E. : Le Relazioni degli Ambasciatori Veneti nel Secolo 
XVI. Serie 2. 5 vols. Florence, 1839-1863. 

Altmeyer, J.: Isabelle d'Autriche. Brussels, 1842. 

Altmeyer, J.: Relations Commerciales des Pays-Bas. 1840. 

ARCHiEOLOGiA, vols. xxxix., xl. (Society of Antiquaries) . Brussels 
1865. 

528 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 529 

Arch-sologia Cambrensis, xxiii. 1877. 

Aretino, p.: Lettere. 6 vols- Paris, 1609. 

Armstrong, E. : The Emperor Charles V. 2 vols. 1902. 

AscHAM, R. : Works, ed. Giles. 1864. 

AsHMOLE, E.: The Order of the Garter. 1672. 

AvENATi, P.: Entrata Solemne di Cristina di Spagna, 1534. 

Milan, 1903. 
Barack, K.: Zimmerische Chronik. 4 vols. Freiburg, 1881. 
Baumgarten, H.: Geschichte Karl V. 3 vols. Stuttgart, 1885- 

1892. 
Beltrami, L. : II Castello di Milano, 1450-1535. Milan, 1894. 
Bergh, L. v. d. : Correspondance de Marguerite d'Autriche, 

Gouvernante des Pays-Bas, 1506-1528. Leyden, 1845. 
BouiLLE, R. de: Histoire des Dues de Guise. 4 vols. Paris, 

1849. 
Bradford, W. : Correspondence of Charles V. and his Ambassa- 
dors, with Itinerary, 151 9-155 1. 1850. 
Brant6me, p. de: QEuvres Completes, ed. Merimee et Lacour. 

13 vols. Paris, 1895. 
BucHOLTZ, F. V. : Geschichte der Regierung Ferdinand I. 9 vols. 

Vienna, 1 831-1838. 
Bulletins de la Commission d'Histoire, Series ii., v., vii., xi., xii. 

Brussels, 1852. 
Burgon, J. W. : Life and Times of Sir T. Gresham. 2 vols. 

1839. 
Burigozzo, G. : Cronaca Milanese, 1500-1544. Arch. Stor. Itali- 

ano, vol. iii. Florence, 1842. 
Calendar of Letters and State Papers, Foreign and Domestic, 

of the Reign of Henry VIII., 1509-1547. 21 vols. 1862- 

1912. 
Calendar of State Papers during the Reign of Henry VIII. 

Record 0£&ce Commission. 11 vols. 1 831-1852. 
Calendar of State Papers, Foreign Series, of the Reign of Ed- 
ward VI., 1547-1553. 1861. 
Calendar of State Papers, Foreign Series, of the Reign of Mary, 

1553-1558. 1861. 
Calendar of State Papers, Foreign Series, of the Reign of Eliza- 
beth, 1558-1577. II vols. 1863-1901. 
Calendar of State Papers in the Archives of Simancas, Series i, 

1485-1544. 7 vols. 1862-1899. 
Calendar of State Papers in the Archives of Simancas, Series 2, 

1558-1580. 3 vols. 1892-1899. 
Calendar of State Papers in the Archives of Venice, 1202-1607. 

10 vols. 1 864- 1 900. 
Calendar of Manuscripts of the Marquis of Salisbury, vol. i. 

Historical Manuscripts Commission. 1883-1899. 
Calmet, a. : Histoire Ecclesiastique et Civile de Lorraine. 3 vols. 

Nancy, 1728. 
Cambridge Modern History, The. Vol. II.: The Reformation; 

Vol. III. : The Wars of Religion. 1903-1904. 
Campo, A.: Storia di Cremona. Cremona, 1585. 
Churchill, A.: Collection of Voyages and Travels. 6 vols. 

1744-1746. 



S30 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

CiMBER, L., ET Danjou, F. : Archives Curieuses de I'Histoire de 

France. III. Histoire Particuliere de la Cour du Roi Henri II. 

Paris, 1835. 
Conway, Sir Martin: The Literary Remains of A. Diirer. 

1889. 
CoRTiLE, L. : Ragionamenti. Venice, 1552. 
Coryat, T. : Crudities. 3 vols. 1611. 
CouRNAULT, C. : Ligier-Richier. Paris, 1887. 
Crowe, J. A., and Cavalcaselle, G. B. : Titian — his Life and 

Times. 2 vols. 1877. 
CusT, L. : Burlington Magazine, xix. August, 191 1. 
CusT, Mrs. Henry: Gentlemen Errant. 1909. 
Dahlmann, F. : Geschichte der Europaischen Staaten : Danemark, 

3 vols. Hamburg, 1840- 1843. 
Decrue, F. : Anne de Montmorency a la Cour de Fran9ois I. 
Decrue, F. : Anne de Montmorency a la Cour de Henri II., 

Fran9ois II., et Charles IX. 2 vols. Paris, 1885-1889. 
Du Bella Y, M. et G. : Memoires (Petitot Coll., Serie i., 17-19). 

Paris, 1819. 
FORSTEMAN, C. : Neues Urkundenbuch z. Gesch. d. Reformation. 

Hamburg, 1842. 
Friedmann, P. : Les Depgches de G. Michieli, 1554-1557- Venice, 

1869. 
Frizzi, a.: Memorie per la Storia di Ferrara, iv. Ferrara, 1791. 
Gachard, L. : Analecta Belgica. Brussels, 1855. 
Gachard, L. : Collection des Documents Inedits cone. I'Histoire 

de la Belgique. 3 vols. Brussels, 1853. 
Gachard, L. : Collection des Voyages des Souverains des Pays- 

Bas. 4 vols. 1876-1882. 
Gachard, L. : Relations des Ambassadeurs Venitiens sur Charles V. 

et Philippe II. 1855. 
Gachard, L.: Relation des Troubles de Gand sous Charles V. 

1846. 
Gachard, L. : Retraite et Mort de Charles V. 2 vols. 1855. 
Gardner, E. : The King of Court Poets. 1906. 
Gaye, G. : Carteggio Inedito di Artisti dei Secoli XV., XVI., e 

XVII. 3 vols. Florence, 1840. 
Ghilino, C. : Annali di Alessandria. Milan, 1666. 
GouLART, S. : Memoires de la Ligue. 6 vols. Amsterdam, 1758. 
Granvelle, Cardinal de: Correspondance, 1565-1586, public 

par E. Poullet et C. Piot. 12 vols. Brussels, 1896. 
Granvelle, Cardinal de, Memoires pour servir a I'Histoire du 

Par P. Levesque. Brussels, 1753. 
Granvelle, Cardinal de, Memoires du. L. d'Esnans, Brussels, 

1761. 
Granvelle, Cardinal de: Papiers d'Etat, public par C. Weiss. 

9 vols. 1852. 
Groen van Prinsterer, G. : Archives de la Maison d'Orange- 

Nassau. Serie i. 8 vols. Leyden, 1847. 
GuAZzo, M. : Historic, 1524-1552. Milan, 1552. 
Guicciardini, L. : Descrittione di Tutti i Paesi-Bassi. Antwerp, 

1588. 
Haile, M. : Life of Reginald Pole. 1910. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 53i 

Hardwicke Papers, The, 1501-1726. 2 vols. 1778. 
Hausser, L. : Geschichte der Rheinischen Pfalz. 2 vols, Heidel- 
berg, 1856. 
Henne, a.: Histoire du Regne de Charles V. en Belgique. 10 

vols. Brussels, i860. 
HoBY, T., The Travail and Life of, 1547-1564. Camden Mis- 
cellany, X. 1902. 
Hugo, L. : Traite de I'Origine de la Maison de Lorraine. Berlin, 

1711. 
Juste, T. : Les Pays-Bas sous Charles V. Brussels, j86i. 
Juste, T. : Les Pays-Bas sous Philippe II. Brussels, 1884. 
Juste, T. : Marie de Hongrie. 1867. 
Kaulek, J. : Correspondance Politique de Castillon et de Marillac. 

Paris, 1885. 
Kervyn de Lettenhove, J. de: Relations Politiques des Pays- 
Bas et de I'Angleterre sous le Regne de Philippe II. 10 vols. 

Brussels, 1892. 
KosTLiN, J.: Leben Luthers. Tiibingen, 1882. 
Lanz, K. : Correspondenz des Kaisers Karl aus d. K. Archiv. 

3 vols. Leipzig, 1844. 
L'AuBESPiNE, S. de: Negociations au Regne de Francois II. 

Paris, 1 841. 
Lavisse, E. : Histoire de France, vol. v. Paris, 1903. 
Le Glay, E. : Correspondance da.Maximilien I. et de Marguerite 

d'Autriche. 2 vols. Brussels, 1839. 
Lepage, H. : Les Archives de Nancy, Le Palais Ducal, La Galerie 

des Cerfs, La Ville de Nancy ; Lettres de Charles III., Due 

de Lorraine. Nancy, 1844- 1865. 
Le Petit, J. : La Grande Chronique de HoUande, etc., jusqu'a 

1 600. Dordrecht, 1601. 
Leva, G. de: Storia Documentata di Karl V. in Italia. 5 vols. 

Venice, 1863. 
LiTTA, P.: Famiglie Celebri, vol. ii. MUan, 1839. 
Lodge, E. : Illustrations of British History, Henry VIII. to 

James I., in Papers of the Families of Howard, Talbot, and 

Cecil. 3 vols. 1830. 
Machyn, H.: Diary of a Citizen of London, 1550-1563, ed. J. S. 

NichoUs. Camden Society, No. 42. 1848. 
Magenta, C. : I Visconti e gli Sforza nel Castello di Pavia. 2 vols. 

Milan, 1883. 
Maitland Miscellany, i. Maitland Club. Edinburgh, 1834. 
Merriman, R. B.: Life and Letters of Thomas Cromwell. 2 vols. 

1902. 
MiGNET, F. : Charles Quint — son Abdication et Sejour a Yuste. 

Paris, 1857. 
MiGNET, F. : Rivalite de FranQois I. et de Charles V. Paris, 1875. 
Moeller, C. : Eleonore d'Autriche, Reine de France. Paris, 1893. 
MoNTEMERLO, N. : Nuove Historic di Antica Citta. Tortona, 

1618. 
NoTT, G. : The Works of Surrey and Sir T. Wyatt. 2 vols. 1815. 
Nubilonia: Cronaca di Vigevano. 
PiMODAN, G. de: La Mere des Guises. Paris, 1889. 
Porta, G. : Alessandria Descritta, lUustrata, Celebrata. Milan, 

1670. 



532 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

PuTMAN, R. : William the Silent, Prince of Orange. 2 vols. 

New York, 1895. 
Rabutin, F. de: Commentaires des Dernieres Guerres. Petitot 

Coll., No. 37. Paris, 1819-1829. 
Ratti, N. : Delia Famiglia Sforza. 2 vols. Rome, 1794. 
Ravold, J. B. : Histoire Democratique de Lorraine. 4 vols. 

Paris, 1890. 
Reiffenberg, F. de : Histoire de la Toison d'Or. 2 vols. 

Brussels, 183 . 
Reumont, a. v.: Geschichte Toscanas. 2 vols. Gotha, 1876. 
RiBiER, G. : Lettres et Memoires d'^^tat. Paris, 1666. 
Ruble, A. de: Antoine de Bourbon et Jeanne d'Albret. 4 vols, 

Paris, 1 88 1. 
Ruble, A. de: La Jeunesse de Marie Stuart; 1891. Le Traite de 

Cateau-Cambresis ; 1887. 
Saint-Genis, V. de: Histoire de Savoie. 3 vols. Chambery, 

1869. 
Sanuto, M. : Diarii, 1496-1533, vols, liii., liv., Iv., Ivi., Ivii. 

Venice, 1879- 1902. 
ScHAFER, D.: Geschichte v. Danemark. 4 vols. Gotha, 1893. 
ScHLEGEL, J. H.: Geschichte d. Konige v. Danemark aus d. 

Oldenburg Stamme. 2 vols., folio. Kopenhagen, 1769-1777. 
Thomas, H. : Annalium de Vita et Rebus Gestis lUustrissimi 

Principis Frederici II., Elect. Pal. Frankfort, 1624. 
Thomas, H. : Spiegel d. Humors Grosser Potentaten. Leipzig, 

1629. 
Tytler, p. F. : England under Edward VI. and Mary. 2 vols. 

1839. 
Ulmann, H.: Kaiser Maximilian I. 2 vols. Stuttgart, 1884-1891. 
Vaissiere, p. de: Charles de Marillac, 1510-1560. Paris. 1896. 
Verri, P.: Storia diMilano. 2 vols. Florence, 1851. 
Vertot, R. de: Ambassades de MM. de NoaiUes en Angleterre. 

5 vols. Paris, 1762. 
Vieilleville, F. de Scepeaux, Mar^chal de: M6moires. Coll. 

Petitot, S6rie i., 26-28. Paris, 1819-1829. 
ViLLAMONT, A. : Voyages. Urbino, 1589. 
Viola, N. : II Santuario di Tortona. Tortona, 1675. 
VoiGT, J. : Albert - Alcibiades, Markgraf von Brandenburg. 

2 vols. Berlin, 1852. 
Walpole, H. : Anecdotes of Painting, vol. i. 1826-1828. 
Wornum, R. : Life and Works of Holbein. 1867. 
Young, Colonel G. : The Medici. 2 vols. 1909. 



GENEALOGICAL TABLES 



I. HABSBURG. 

II. DENMARK. 

III. SFORZA. 

IV. LORRAINE. 

V. GUISE. 



533 31 



- 


>^ 






r« 


y-< 


^ 






a 




03 

Ih 


2 


O 


Q 

h-i 
1— 1 


i>. 


cu<u 


CO 

d 

3 


1— 1 


'OxJ 


in 


o c 


OT 


0) 




^ 2 




S 




d 




"o 




r. - 


1— J 


C8M-, 


rt 


II 
d 

00 




1— 1 
T3 


O 




< 




II 
u 






II 


n 


O 


O 


n-( 




a 



-3 g5 
W 4) 



— 4) 

H 



i:- .5 



535 





^ 




o. 




o 








CO 




-i.-t 




u 




Xi 




Ood 




<« •^ 




O ^ 




H 




^ . 




O "13 




T3 








'5,^" 




Wi 




P 


, 


GO 
OO 





OO 



|1 

<U <L> 

s ° 

CQhh 
o a 



c o 

W.S 
>*- W 



M o 

5 II— 



Ol 00 







w • - 




o (u 




">« 


>» 


.S ^ 


c 


«cfi 


o 


-T3 


rt 


i-H a 


cn 


ca 






o 


m 








'u 




M 


CO 


O 





o 



„ 


ri 


tic 


a 






3 




^ 




C 





mH? 






8^" 



fefe 



00 


m 


-=t- N 


M 


lO 


^ 


M 


h- ( 


d 




4) 

•a 










- tn 








ii 




.C 




o 





o;:? 



o >o 




iri 


o 




dj 




W 


m 


. 


00 



II 



g 


'-' 


tn 


•a 


o 


(0 


X' 


3 


1— ( 


O. 



o 



x; 


ca 


u 
Il- 


tn 


ia 




0) 


j3 


U3 


u 






o o 



a 
< 
II 

■§"5 so: 

TO O *^ 

_5xiffi o 
►-. o 



O 3 O 

-^ < 



W a 



o 


3 ca 


(U 


■55 W5 


^ 


g^« 


p 


M O 


Q 




ii 


II 


4) 


a 


J2 


— a 


^ 


c 



1X4 



536 



n 03 o .3 



PQ 



< 
N 

O 



HH- S 






E^-' 



S S M 






a - 

o <u I . 
"C "S lo J^ 

pqxi 






t3 



c 


^ 


rt 


3 - 0> 


m 




II— 


rtpq T 


o 


Nt„ Ol 


in 


— k o '^ 


^ 


-2 T 



fo 



u" 






"+-1 . m — 1 



M 



;3 o "^ 
(i ^ ? 



rt O 

PQcn 






55 2 

C en 
;2W 






;t m 



O 6 rt 

pqcfi e 



o 
U 






al O . 

o y ^ 



^ 


<s 


£2 


II 












n1 






C 


o 






lO 




D 


M 





(jTS 



O 

537 



bo 
C/5 











S 


■^ 




o 




o 


bo lo 


m 


w 










<3 


^3 


o" 






N 








vn 


ON 






o - . 
rt ITS 



b 



be 
be . 

«0 > CT\ 



2^ 

■->-< •" 






o 0> 



c 2 



O 



O ro lU . 

TO -^ Ul "^ 



fe 



ni 



ni O U-) 



CD 
CO 



o 
o 
CO 



w 



< 



6 

W 



o 



N j4 -a 



1—1 00 is 



> 





>> 




rt 


s 


s 


■> 
g 


'a 



'0 J 


D 


*— ' CJ 




n-i 


IS 


° a 


S 


to 0) 


3 


03 rrl 


<: 


en 


^--a 
■£ S 


03 


_>-; 


cd 


II-- 




S 





O "^ 



o 0-t 



O >H 



fii 



"So 
< 



XI 


a< 


&Z)3 


P 
c3 


e^ 


•a 


i-i 


^ 







u 


(U 


<a 


ti 


& 


ci3 


e 


13 


w 



§ r^ 



0) 

3 "^ 

TO N 

O vo 
-1-1 o 



OS 

- o 



03 

<u 



3^ 

-a CO 
-p •— ' 

CIS 

o 



o 2 

0) 



-4-1 "rr u/ 

(u o a 

cd ™ ^ 

rt oj _» 



> t^ 



^ E 



(u o 

O o 

.2 p 

- Dh 

-1) .- 



ca 
10 



c 
— c 



> 

(d 



3 
cd 

o 



~ed 

X! 

u 



5 N 



U 



538 



fa ;;j 






in 



W o 



o 

w 


o 

"5 


11 




„ 


IN 


nt 




<u 


vn 


J3 








O 


\r> 






o 




Q 





r;3 O W"^ 






o 

a 



o 



to M 

^ I 






en .3 ■" n 






fi ?- 



So -2 



fO 



t: fo 



J3 



.5 lu 


> 


IS 


o 


11 




d) o 








4) VO 




c 7 








O oo 





.S S^ S 

T3 >-< rt U5 



J-l ,j M 

O 









fe " 



o ° a 

■*-■ (D ri 

TO rj »— < 



e i^-^ 



(U rt 



bo 



•S " fl o I- c 



IN 



o 



1-1 ro ^ 
.CON 



ffi 



be" 
oo 

2 ^ 
o o 

OO 



hH VO 

t-M h-i 



O <U • 

tJ c3 VO 

3 IH M 



o 



> ^ ■ 



o '^ 



:^ 


^ 

a 




(U 


(U 






o 


-s 


1— > 


J3 


13 


O 


O 




o< 




— y 



IZi-rf 



2 o s 



rt o 

00 



^> 

° m 
as 
« rt 

ao 

i! (D 
S3 cu 

^S 

O (U 

<flrS 

4) <4-l 

l-i O 
(U ^ 

^^ 
u 3 



be .„ 

1^ 

X 

(U ;-■ 

O 

• - u 

CO 9< 



- rt 

CO " 



P t! 






<U 00 
;3 VD 



OtJ 



539 



o 
o 

CO 

i 



o 


V 


c 


»o 




<1 


T— 1 


>> 


II- 






a^ 


o 


o 


w 


m 


>n 


C/5 


o 


1 









. "■> 



oM H 



— p **< N 

^ O '-' 
O 






0) <u . 



m O >, 

u o c 
rt d .5 



_.S3 H p» 



TJ I 



R « 



y « in 

G 4) CO M 



hf^O 



o ^ d - 

V-1 .i5. 



^ to U-J 



J2 o . 

II . 

d 10 



00 
«C o to 

^ <u 



pq 



II -o 



a 


"ni 


<o 




B 


to 


<o 


D 


M 




<d 




(fl 




xi 


XI 







U 







•3.2 



,5 O H 



Cl, 5 «5 
— to 

u) cS 1-1 

■S§ 4 

- d t*H m 
CIS o to 



o 6 






o 



u* 



o "^ 



< 



-I .SI? 



*-> d • o ^ • 
„ S to *-i_J3 VO 

d "*< h b 

fe_d tH 



g en 00 



3d . U-) 
Q tic <U to 

■-^'>^ 
- 3 " "1 

o '^ to 

JO « 



S . 

d C7> 

(U M 



J5'a ro 
■w 5 t^ 

O TO VO 

►^ 1-; ^ 

<1>^ VO 

-d S •- 



•g moo 

^ d to 

r,o. I 

.2 d S' 

d o to 

II 

jfvO* 

d 0> 

"C ^ 

_<u " 

XI ' 

ol to 

O "^ 



CJ 


A^.Hl 




.2d 3 • 


>, , 


X5 rtO°g 


3 

8 


^RO^ 


rO 


<J S^rt 10 


w 


to '■^.S to 





■3 "*? t3 w 
? M 


'3 


3 6 



Sen 



<u 







O o 



<0 4) 



« to 

_G VO 



s =* 

50 I—, 



<D 

-a d 

la o 



« H " 

gxijQ 

O 



TO v-* , K 00 



CJ CO 
«3 



«> en ii 

Q 3 (U 



ffi 



4) VO 

CO M 

■3 I 



1 Ph .5 .« "o — "»:: 

I O 3 •-' C« 



^O P. 



540 



INDEX 



Adige, the, 132 

Aerschot, Anne, Duchess of, death 
of her husband, 329; birth of a 
son, 333; her letters to Mary, 
Queen of Hungary, 368, 523; at 
Joinville, 464; at Lorraine, 484; 
retires to Diest, 485 ; her death, 
487 

Aerschot, Duke of, 79, 142; re- 
ceives the Ambassadors, 184; 
his defeat at Sittard, 280; third 
marriage, 323 ; death, 329 

Aerschot, PhiUp of, 484 

Agincourt, Battle of, 257 

Agrippa, Cornelius, 50, 58 

Aigues-Mortes, 172 

Aix-la-Chapelle, 27, 43, 135 

Aix, siege of, 118 

Alberi, E., " Le Relazioni degli 
Ambasciatori," 528 

Albret, Jeanne d', 235. See Na- 
varre, Princess of 

Alen9on, Duke of, 507 

Alen9on, Margaret, Duchess of. 
Queen of Navarre, 10 

Alessandria, 509 

Algiers, expedition to, 267 

Alsace, 353. 374 

Alsace, Gerard d', 256 

Alsener Sound, 65 

Altmeyer, J., " Isabelle d'Au- 
triche," 13 note, 15 note, 33 note, 
40 note, 43 note, et seq., 528; 
" Relations Commerciales du 
Danemark et les Pays-Bas," 34 
note, 37 note, 38 note, et seq., 528 

Alva, Duchess of, in London, 391 

Alva, Duke of, Commander-in- 
Chief, 383; in London, 391 ; war 
with Pope Paul IV., 409; ap- 
pointed Captain-General of the 
Netherlands, 486 

Alzei, 402 

Amager, island of, 19 

Amboise, 463 



Amigone, Mario, 96 

Andre, St., Marshal, taken prisoner 
at St. Quentin, 417; at the Con- 
ference of Cercamp, 428 

Angouleme, Duke of, 114 

Anjou, Henry, Duke of, 489; suc- 
ceeds to the throne, 490 

Anjou, Margaret of, 257 

Annebaut, Admiral 1', 291 

Anne of Cleves, her appearance, 
225; her marriage pronounced 
null and void, 236 

Annonville, 268 

Antwerp, 27, 39, 201; riots at, 
485 

Apennines, the, 116 

Aragon, Don Carlos of, Duke of 
Terranuova, Viceroy of Milan, 

499 

Aragon, Ferdinand of, 10 

Aremberg, Count d', 331, 479; 
killed in battle, 487 

Aremberg, Jacques d', at Frank- 
furt, 470 

Aremberg, Margaret, Countess of, 
382, 479, 480; at Nancy, 485 

Arena, 117 

Aretino, Pietro, 96; his portraits 
of the Duke and Duchess of 
Milan, 96; his tribute to the 
Duke, no; " Lettere," 529 

Armstrong, Ed., " Cambridge 
Modern History," 507 note, 

529 

Arras, Antoine Perrenot, Bishop 
of, at Augsburg, 319; his por- 
trait, 322; Imperial Chancellor, 
342 ; at the Conference of Cer- 
camp, 428; of Cateau-Cambre- 
sis, 436; on the rivalry between 
Christina, Duchess of Lorraine, 
and the Duchess of Parma, 459 

Arras, Bishop of, proclaims 
Charles V. Archduke of Austria 
and Prince of Castille, 3 



541 



542 



INDEX 



Arundel, Fitzalan, Earl of, 158 
note 

Arundel, Thomas Howard, Earl 
of, 158 note 

Arundel, Lord, 415; at the Con- 
ference of Cercamp, 428, 432 

Ascham, Roger, 321; "Works," 
319 note, 529 ; his journey up the 
Rhine, 339; description of royal 
personages, 344, 346 

Ashmole, E., " The Order of the 
Garter," 392 note, 529 

Asti, 116 

Aubespine, Sebastien de 1' , at the 
Conference of Cercamp, 428; at 
Ghent, 457; " Negociations au 
Regne de Frangois II.," 457 
note, 531 

Audley, Chancellor, 162 

Augsburg, 60; Diet of, 318, 337; 
prorogued, 323, 346; festivities 
at, 338 

Aumale, Count, 253; at Joinville, 
270; failure of his negotiations 
of marriage, 270 ; wounded, 307 ; 
his wish to marry Christina, 
Duchess of Lorraine, 312; mar- 
riage with Anna d' Este, 326: 
created a Duke Governor of 
Savoy, 333; his capture, 379 

Austria, Don John of, 488; ap- 
pointed Governor of the Nether- 
lands, 492 ; at Luxembourg, 492 ; 
his letter to Christina, Duchess 
of Lorraine, 493 ; victory of 
Gembloux, 494; death, 495 

Austria, Elizabeth of, at Nancy, 
490 

Austria, Philip, Archduke of, his 
death, i ; funeral, 2 

Avenati, P., " Entrata Solemne di 
Cristina di Spagna," 92 note, 529 

Avignano, Count, 396 

Avignon, 118 

Axe, Torben, 24 

Ayamonte, Marquis of, 497 

Badoer, Venetian Ambassador, 

396, 406 
Bar, 239, 284, 476 
Bar, Duke and Duchess of, 252. 

See Lorraine 
Barack, K., " Zimmerische Chron- 

ik," 529 
Barbarossa, his flight, 106 
Barcelona, contract signed at, 74, 

104 
Bari, duchy of, 453 



Barlow, John, Dean of Westbury, 
205 

Barres, Guillaume des, 48 

Bassompierre, 360, 377; at Den 
oeuvre, 373 

Baumgarten, H., " Geschichte 
Karl v.," 23 note, 529 

Bavaria, Maximilian, Duke of, his 
marriage, 512 

Bavaria, William, Duke of, his 
marriage with Renee of Lor- 
raine, 488 

Bavon's Abbey, St., demolition 
of, 230 

Bayonne, 220 

Beard, Mr., 205 

Beaumont, Castle of, 242, 246 

Beaumont, Dame Anne de, 6 

Bellay, M. du, " Memoires," 250 
note, 530 

Belloni, Niccolo, 129, 141, 347; 
his letters to Gadio, 348-350; 
sent to Brussels, 375; his dis- 
appearance, 375 

Beltrami, L., "II Castello di Mi- 
lano," 529 

Bergh, L. van, " Correspondance 
de M. d'Autriche," 21 note, 529 

Berghen, Madame de, 142, 154, 198 

Berghen, Marquis of, 185, 252 

Berlin, 39, 40 

Bianca, Empress, 7, 72 

Binche, destruction of the Palace 
of, 390 

Bisignano, Prince of, 66 

Blanaont, 370 

Blois, 462 

Bohemia, Anna of, her death, 320 

Bohemia, King and Queen of, at 
Brussels, 405 

Bois-le-Duc, 212 

Boleyn, Anne, 144, 150 

Bologna, 73, 74 

Bonner, Bishop, 182, 213 

Bonvalot, Fran9ois, Abbot of 
Luxeuil, 299; his letter on the 
Regency of Lorraine, 300; pre- 
sent at the funeral of Antoine, 
Duke of Lorraine, 305 

Bomy, truce at, 137 

Borromeo, Carlo, Archbishop of 
Milan, 500 

Bottigella, Councillor Pier Fran- 
cesco, 78 ; his instructions on the 
reception of Christina, Duchess 
of Milan, 84 

Bouille, R. de, "Histoiredes Dues 
de Guise," 222 note, 529 



INDEX 



543 



Bouillon, Godfrey of, 256 

BouUay, Edmond du, 253 

Boulogne, siege of, 292 

Bourbon, Antoinette, de, 147, 258. 
See Guise 

Bourbon, Renee de, her marriage, 
II, 258 

Boussu, Grand Equerry, in Lon- 
don, 391 

Bradford, W. , "Itinerary of 
Charles V.," 244 note, 529 

Bragadin, Lorenzo, Venetian En- 
voy, 113 

Brandenburg, Albert, Marquis of, 
285, 318; his career, 320; ap- 
pearance, 321; admiration for 
Christina, Duchess of Lorraine, 
321 ; declines to take part in the 
tournament at Brussels, 332; 
liis departure, 332; secret in- 
trigues with France, 354, 357; 
his plundering, 377; offers a 
refuge to Christina, 377; cap- 
tures Aumale, 379; meeting 
with Charles V., 379; his court- 
ship of Christina, 383 ; routed at 
the Battle of Sievershausen, 
384; death, 385 

Brandenburg, Elizabeth of, em- 
braces the Lutheran faith, 41 ; 
her flight with her brother, 56 

Brandenburg, Joachim, Marquis 
of, 39, 41 ; at the marriage of 
King Christian II., 13 

Brantome, P. de, his sketch of 
Christina of Denmark, vii ; 
" OEuvres Completes," 529 

Breda, Castle of, 174 

Brederode, Count, 183, 252 

Bregilles, M. de, 55 

Brenner Pass, 133, 372 

Brian, Ambassador, 281 

Brittany, Anne of , 3 ; her death, 1 1 

Brousse, Jean de la, 314, 372 

Browne, Sir Anthony, 1 82 

Bruges, 30, 236 

Brunswick, Dorothea, Duchess of, 
at the Court of Spain, 502; 
return to Gottingen, 503 ; death 
of her husband, 503; joins her 
mother at Tortona, 505; her 
second marriage, 511; death, 

511 
Brunswick, Eric, Duke of, 480; 
his marriage with Dorothea of 
Lorraine, 490; summoned to 
Spain, 502 ; return to Gottingen, 
503 ; his death, 503 



Brunswick, Henry, Duke of, 39, 40 

Brusquet, the jester, 404 

Brussels, 8, 104, I3S, 141. 183, 
381, 400; festivities at, 293, 329, 
405; tournament at, 405 

Bucholtz, F. von, " Geschichte d. 
Kaiser Ferdinand I.," 264 note, 

529 ^ . . 

" Bulletins de la Commission 

Royale d'Histoire," 2 note 

Biiren, Anna, Countess, her death, 

425 

Biiren, Count, 142, 252; enter- 
tained by "Wriothesley, 198 

Burgon, J. W., " Life of Sir 
Thomas Gresham," 396 note, 

529 

Burgos, I, 220 

Burgundy, Adolf of. Admiral of 
the Dutch fleet, 36 

Burgundy, Mary of, 9 

Burigozzo, G. M., " Cronaca Mi- 
lanese," 82 note, 529 

Busch, Count Jacob von, 351 

Busseto, Bartolommeo, 498 

Butler, A. J., " Cambridge Modern 
History," 508 note 

Calabria, 112 

Calais, 37, 204, 214; capture of, by 
the French, 420 ; question of the 
restoration to England, 429, 
432, 438, 443 

Calmet, A., " Histoire de Lor- 
raine," 246 note, 256 note, 529 

Cambray, 177, 224; Peace of, 56, 

403 

Cambray, Archbishop of, performs 
the nuptial rites of King 
Christian II., 13 

Cambre, La, Convent of, 449, 
468 

Campeggio, Cardinal, 57 

Campo, A., " Storia di Cremona," 
75 note, 96, 529 

Caracciolo, Cardinal, Papal Nun- 
cio, 31; appointed Viceroy of 
Milan, 118; letters from Chris- 
tina, Duchess of Milan, 516, 517 

Cardon, M. Leon, vii 

Carjaval, Cardinal, at Malines, 6 

Carne, Dr. Edward, 182, 199 

Carondelet, Archbishop, 230 

Carondelet, Ferry de, 377 

Cartagena, 267 

Castellani, Madame, 500 

Castillon, Ambassador, 147, 160, 
164; recalled to France, 198 



544 



INDEX 



Cateau-Cambresis, Conference for 
peace at, 436-447; Commis- 
sioners, 436; treaty ratified, vi, 
448 

Catherine, Queen of France, her 
state entry into Paris, 334; ill- 
ness, 362 ; flight from Reims, 373 

Cenis, Mont, ascent of, 86 

Cercamp, Conference for peace at, 
426-430; Commissioners, 428; 
second session, 431; adjovirned, 
432 

Chaloner, Ambassador, 457, 458 

Chalons, 291 ; camp at, 359 

Chalons, Philibert of , 142 

Chamberlain, A. B., 168 note 

Chambery, 84, 85 

Champagne, attack on, 373 

Champier, Antoine, 296 

Chantilly, 181 

Chapuys, Ambassador, 151, 152, 
159; entertained by Thomas 
Cromwell, 1 73 ; on Henry VIII. 's 
negotiations of marriage, 196; 
at Calais, 204; on the illness of 
Henry VIII., 315 

Charlemont, citadel of, 398 

Charles V., Emperor, vi; pro- 
claimed Archduke of Austria 
and Prince of Castille, 3; at 
Malines, 4; attack of small- 
pox, 5; his education, 6; con- 
firmation, 6; taste for sport, 8; 
at the wedding of his sister 
Isabella, 13; attack of fever, 
14; festivities on his coming of 
age, 14; assumes the title of 
King of Spain. 20; his first 
Chapter of the Golden Fleece, 
20 ; elected King of the Romans, 
25; coronation, 27; meeting 
with King Christian II. of Den- 
mark, 28, 57; his marriage, 48 
death of his sister Isabella, 48 
receives the imperial crown, 57 
death of his aunt, 58; meeting 
with Prince John, 59; appoints 
his sister Mary Regent of the 
Netherlands, 61 ; his progress to 
Brussels, 66; festivities, 67; at 
Regensburg, 67, 245; his illness, 
68, 385; letter on the death of 
his nephew, 69; at MUan, 74; 
arranges the marriage of his 
niece Christina, 74-78; sails for 
Africa, 104; his victory at 
Tunis, 106; march to Asti, 116, 
118; meeting with Christina, 



ii7> 377; invasion of Provence, 
118; siege of Aix, 118; signs a 
truce, 118; places a Spanish 
garrison to defend Milan, 120; 
his reconciliation with the King 
of France, 172 ; treaty with him, 
195; views on Henry VIII. 's 
proposed marriage, 197; Cru- 
sade against the Turks, 209; 
death of his wife, 210 ; reception 
in France, 221-223; meeting 
with King Francis, 221 ; at Paris, 
222; return to Valenciennes, 224; 
paper of instructions, 226; enters 
Ghent, 228 ; his sentence of con- 
demnation, 229; on the death 
of Cromwell, 237; arranges the 
second marriage of Christina, 
245 ; his expedition to Algiers, 
267 ; campaign against King 
Francis, 277; secret treaty with 
King Henry VIII., 280; success 
at Diiren, 280; lays siege to 
Landrecy, 280; declines pro- 
posals of peace, 281, 282, 285; 
his treaty with Christian III., 
283; visit to the convent, 285; 
at St. Dizier, 286; his wish for 
peace, 291 ; signs a treaty, 292 ; 
at Brussels, 293, 324, 381 ; cam- 
paign against the League of 
Schmalkalde, 317; victory of 
Miihlberg, 318; his portrait, 
322; at Augsburg, 337; diffi- 
culties in obtaining the recog- 
nition of his son PhiUp as his 
successor, 341-347; appearance, 
344. 37^: intrigues against, 354. 
357; takes refuge at Innsbruck, 
355; at Villach, 372; enters 
Strasburg, 377; meeting with 
Albert, IMarquis of Branden- 
burg, 379; raises the siege of 
jSIetz, 380 ; on the union of Queen 
Mary with his son, 387; his in- 
tention to abdicate, 398; abdi- 
cation, 400-402; resigns the 
kingdoms of Spain and Sicily, 
403; departure for Ghent, 406; 
embarks at Flushing, 406; his 
retreat at St. Yuste, 417; death, 
430; funeral, 433-435; letters 
from Christina, 525 
Charles VI., Emperor, 513 
Charles VIII. of France, 3 
Charles IX. of France, pro- 
claimed King, 464; bis coro- 
nation, 467 



INDEX 



545 



Charles the Bold of Burgundy, 9 ; 
defeated at Nancy, 257; re- 
moval of his bones to Bruges, 
336 

Chatelherault, 250 

Cheyney, Sir Thomas, Ambas- 
sador, 308 

Chimay, Charles, Prince of, 242 ; 
his affection for Louise de Guise, 
242 ; marriage, 244 

Chimay, Louise, Princess of, her 
letter on her happy marriage, 
247; death, 278 

Christian II., King of Denmark, 
his proposals of marriage, 12; 
coronation, 12; marriage by 
proxy, 1 3 ; reception of Queen 
Isabella, 1 5 ; wedding, 1 5 ; char- 
acteristics, 17, 18; appearance, 
18, 29; relations with Dyveke, 
1 8 ; treatment of his wife, 19, 20, 
24, 39 ; misconduct, 20 ; elected 
Knight of the Golden Fleece, 
2 5 ; crowned in the Cathedral of 
Upsala, 25 ; sympathy with the 
Lutheran faith, 26, 40, 45 ; his 
title of Nero of the North, 26; 
reforms, 26; journey through 
Germany, 27; portraits, 28, 29, 
41 ; meeting with Charles V., 
28; at Ghent, 29; interview 
with Cardinal Wolsey, 30; ap- 
peals for help, 33, 45; deposed, 
vi, 33, 39; his flight, 34; at 
Malines, 36 ; arrival in England, 
37; meeting with Henry VIII., 
37; infatuation for Sigebritt, 38, 
39; raises a force in Germany, 
39; intimacy with Luther, 41; 
at Lierre, 44; extravagance, 44; 
death of his wife, 46 ; intention 
to invade Denmark, 49; plun- 
derings and ravages, 49, 56; 
picture of his children, 53; his 
public recantation, 57; return 
to Malines, 57; invasion of 
Holland, 62; sails to Norway, 
63; his reception, 64; disbands 
his forces, 64; imprisonment, 
65 ; removed to Kallundborg 
Castle, 327; his death, 449 

Christian III., King of Denmark, 
his succession disputed, 103; 
secret treaty with France, 275; 
his treaty with Charles V., 283 

Christina of Denmark, her birth, 
32; life at Malines, 50-53; por- 
traits, v, 54, 96, 155, 157, 158 



note, 509, 514; present at the 
festivities at Brussels, 66; pro- 
posal of marriage from the 
Duke of Milan, 74; love of 
riding, 75, 141; character, vi, 
75, 97; appearance, v, 80, 86, 
98, 149, 466; wedding, 81, 94; 
letters to her husband, 83, 100, 
516; dowry, 83; her journey to 
Milan, 83-90; at Cussago, 88; 
first sight of her husband, 89; 
state entry into Milan, 90-93 ; 
popularity, 98, 141, 264, 408, 
415, 450; lessons in Italian, 99; 
death of her husband, loi, 107; 
offers of marriage, 113-115, 207, 
383 ; meeting with her uncle 
Charles V., 117, 377; petitions 
to Cardinal Caracciolo, 119, 120; 
reception at Pavia, 122; attack 
of fever, 127, 210; departure 
from Pavia, 129; journey to 
Briissels, 129-1 35 ; meeting with 
her sister Dorothea, 134; at 
Heidelberg, 134, 378; her life at 
Brussels, 141, 294, 327, 382; at 
the Castle of Breda, 174; return 
to Brussels, 183, 448; her inter- 
view with Wriothesley , 1 9 1 - 1 94 ; 
negotiations of marriage with 
Henry VIII. broken off, 204; 
her suitors, 207, 312, 321, 383, 
387; reception of her sister 
Dorothea, 212; affection for 
Prince Rene of Orange, 218, 
232, 238; at Valenciennes, 224; 
her betrothal to Francis, Duke 
of Lorraine, 244; marriage, 245, 
251; journey to Pont-a-Mous- 
son, 253; reception at Nancy, 
254; on the love of her husband, 
264; at Fontainebleau, 265; her 
letters to Granvelle on the ces- 
sion of Stenay, 266, 271 ; recep- 
tion at Join villa, 268 ; her reason 
for rejecting Henry VIII., 274; 
at Esclaron, 276, 461 ; birth of a 
son, 279; at Spires, 282; her 
efforts for peace, 282; birth of a 
daughter, 283 ; return to Nancy, 
294, 322, 482; death of her hus- 
band, 297; appointed Regent of 
Lorraine, 298, 302 ; birth of a 
second daughter, 302 ; her 
friendship with the Princess of 
Orange, 303; letter to Abbot 
Bonvalot, 308; reception of 
Francis I., 312; refusal to 



546 



INDEX 



marry, 312; at Augsburg, 318, ! 
337-339; measures for the de- \ 
fence of Nancy, 323; departure I 
from Brussels, 332; at the i 
funeral of the Duke of Guise, j 
335; her retinue, 340; enter- ' 
tainment of Frederic and Doro- ! 
thea, 352; fear of the invasion 
of Lorraine by the French, 356, 
359; at Joinville, 356; her inter- 
view with Henry II., 361 ; recep- 
tion of him at Nancy, 363 ; de- 
prived of the Regency, 364; 
appeal to Henry II., 365, 371; 
distress at parting with her son, 
366, 370 ; appeal to Queen Mary, 
367; retires to Blamont, 370; 
her illness, 371, 476, 477, 485; 
488, 497, 509; at Denceuvre, 
372; ordered to leave, 374; 
takes refuge in Alsace, 374; at 
Hoh-Konigsberg, 377; visits to 
England, 394, 413-416; present 
at the abdication of Charles V., 
401; at Ghent, 406, 416, 457; 
meeting with her son, 421-423, 
435, 440; affection for William, 
Prince of Orange, 42 5 ; presides 
at the Conference of Cercamp, 
426-432; refusal to attend the 
wedding of her son, 436; pre- 
sides at the Conference of 
Cateau - Cambresis, 437 - 447 ; 
death of her father, 449; her 
sorrow at not being appointed 
Regent of the Netherlands, 452 ; 
request for the duchy of Bari, 
453 ; refuses the Castle of Lecce, 
45 5 ; relations with the Duchess 
of Parma, 459; return to Lor- 
raine, 460; meeting with King 
Francis II. and Queen Mary of 
Scots, 461 ; acts as Regent of 
Lorraine, 463 ; reception of 
Mary, Queen of Scots, 465 ; at 
Reims, 466; at Frankfurt, 470; 
agreement with the Bishop of 
Toul, 472; rebuilds the salt- 
works of Les Rosier es, 472; 
birth of a grandson, 473 ; inter- 
view with Cardinal Granvelle, 
474; her wish to recover Den- 
mark, 469, 475, 488; at the 
christening of her grandson 
476; pilgrimage to Brussels 
481 ; her medal and motto, 483 
marriage of her daughter^Renee 
488; her grandchildren, 489 



marriage of her daughter Doro- 
thea, 490; letter of welcome to 
Don John of Austria, 492 ; pil- 
grimage to Loreto, 497; state 
entry into Tortona, 497; char- 
acter of her rule, 498; her 
illustrious guests, 500; works 
of mercy, 500; quarrels with 
Philip of Spain, 501, 503, 514; 
joined by her daughter Doro- 
thea, 505 ; death, 509; funeral at 
Nancy, 510; inscription on her 
tomb, 511; character, 514; 
charm, 515; letters to Cardinal 
Caracciolo, 516, 517; to Mary, 
Queen of Hungary, 523; to 
Charles V., 525 ; to Mary, Queen 
of England, 526 

Churchill, A., "Travels," 47 note, 
470 note 

Claude, Princess, of France, her 
christening, 333; proposed mar- 
riage with Charles, Duke of 
Lorraine, 419; wedding, 435. 
See Lorraine 

Clement VII., Pope, 42, 57, 73, 106 

Cles, Cardinal-Bishop Bernhard 
von, at Verona, 132 

Cleves, State of, 135 

Cleves, Anne of, her appearance, 
209 ; marriage with Henry VIII. , 
217 

Cleves, William, Duke of, 136; 
chosen to succeed to the duke- 
dom of Guelders, 138; his 
courtship of the Duchess of 
Milan, 207, 232; takes posses- 
sion of Guelders, 207 ; at Ghent, 
231, 233; his claim on the suc- 
cession of Guelders, 231, 233; 
return, 234; his treaty with 
France, 244; his marriage with 
Princess Jeanne of Navarre, 
249-2 5 1 ; surrender to Charles V. , 
280 ; his marriage annulled, 280 

Clouet, his portrait of Mary, 
Queen of Scots, 465 

Clough, Richard, present at the 
funeral of Charles V., 435 j 

Coblenz, 351 

Codogno, 130 

Cognac, 279 

Coligny, Admiral : at Brussels, 
404; taken prisoner at St. 
Quentin, 417 

Cologne, 13s 

Colonna, Fabrizio, 380 

Compiegne, 177 



INDEX 



547 



Conde, leader of the Huguenots, 

471 

Constantyne, George, 205; im- 
prisonment, 206 

Contarini, Francesco, Venetian 
Ambassador, 233 

Contarini, Gaspare, his impres- 
sions of King Christian II., 29 

Conway, Sir Martin, " Literary 
Remains of Albert Diirer," 27 
note, 530 

Copenhagen, 15, 483; siege of, 38; 
capitulation, 39, 105 

Corbetta, Gualtiero di, his oration 
at the funeral of the Duke of 
Milan, 109 

Corte, Benedetto da, 99, 117, 122, 
141 ; his account of the journey 
to Mantua, 131; his views on 
the proposed marriage of Henry 
VIII. with Christina, Duchess 
of Milan, 170 

Cortile, L., " Ragionamenti," 530 

Coryat,T., "Crudities," 86note, 530 

Coste, Hilarion de, " Les Eloges," 
498 note 

Cournault, C, " Ligier-Richier," 
289^0^6, ^16 note, 530 

Courrieres, Jean de Montmorency, 
Sieur de, 78, 184; in charge of 
Christina, Duchess of Milan, 
121; his career, 124; letter on 
the proposed Cleves marriage, 
139; appointed Bailiff of Alost, 
140, 219; his letters to Charles 
v., 126-128 

Courteville, Jean de, 413 

Cranach, Lucas, his portrait of 
King Christian II. of Denmark, 

41 

Cranmer, Archbishop, 162 

Cremona, 130 

Crepy-en-Laonnois, peace signed 
at, 292 

Cromwell, Thomas, 115; his por- 
trait, 15s; entertains Gian Bat- 
tista Ferrari, 170; entertains 
the Ambassadors, 173; on 
Henry VIII. 's negotiations of 
marriage, 196; entertains Fred- 
eric, Count Palatine, 214; ar- 
rested and sent to the Tower, 
236; beheaded, 237 

Croy, Anne de, 142 

Croy, Charles de, Marquis of 
Havre, 492 

Cussago, villa of, 88 

Cust, L., 159 note, 530 



Dalilmann, P., " Geschichte von 
Danemark," 27 note, 530 

Dalecarlia, 27 

Darnley, Henry, Lord, his mar- 
riage with Mary, Queen of 
Scots, 485 

Decrue, F., "Anne de Montmor- 
ency," 181 note, 245 note, 250 
note, 419 note, 530 

Denis, St., Battle of, 487 

Denmark, outbreak of war with 
Sweden, 475 

Denmark, Queen Christina of, v. 
See Christina 

Denoeuvre, 299, 372 ; Treatyof , 302 

Devonshire, Edward Courtenay, 
Lord, 402 

Diego, Don, his return to Flanders, 
174 

Diest, 482, 485, 487 

Dizier, St., camp at, 286; sur- 
render of, 289 

Dodgson, Campbell, viii 

Dordrecht, 212 

Dormer, Jane, 425 

Dorothea, Princess, of Denmark, 

27, 35; her portrait, 54; oflers 
of marriage, 71, 10 1, 102; her 
appearance, loi ; character, loi, 
105; marriage with Frederic, 
Count Palatine, 105 ; her love of 
adventure, 106; meeting with 
her sister Christina at Heidel- 
berg, 134; at Toledo, 211; visit 
to her aunt Eleanor, 211; at 
the Hague, 212; her appeal on 
behalf of her father, 231; at 
the funeral of the Duke of 
Lorraine, 310; her visit to 
Nancy, 351-353; death of her 
husband, 402; at Jiilich, 416; 
Neuburg, 417, 468; death, 469; 
inscription on her monument, 
469 

Doulans, M. de, 374 

Dover, 413 

Dreux, Battle of, 471 

Drondtheim, Archbishop of, 14, 
19, 64 

Drouin, Simon, 511 

Diiren, surrender of, 280 

Diirer, Albert, extract from his 
Journal, 27; his portraits of 
King Christian II. of Denmark, 

28, 29 

Edward VI., King, his birth, 145 ; 
his death, 386 



548 



INDEX 



Effingham, Lord Howard of, at the 
Conference of Cateau-Cambresis, 
437; on the marriage of Queen 
Elizabeth, 440 

Egmont, Anne of, 400 

Egmont, Count Lamoral d', his 
wedding, 283 ; christening of his 
daughter, 393 ; his victory at 
Gravelines, 424; at Frankfurt, 
470; result of his mission to 
Philip of Spain, 481; arrested, 
486; execution, 487 

Egmont, Floris d', at Brussels, 201 

Egmont, Margaret of, her mar- 
riage, 324; death, 390. See 
Vaudemont 

Egmont, Mary Christina, her 
christening, 393 

Egmont, Philippa of, 257 

Elbe, the, 39 

Elbceuf, Marquis of, at Mon 
Soulas, 440 

Eleanor, Archduchess, of Austria, 
4; attack of smallpox, 5; educa- 
tion, 6; offers of marriage, 12; 
her affection for Frederic, Count 
Palatine, 2 1 ; Queen of Portugal, 
24; of France, 137; at Com- 
piegne, 177; meeting with her 
sister Mary, 178 ; her appear- 
ance, 178, 339; reception of her 
brother Charles V. , 221; at 
Brussels, 293, 325 ; her death, 430 

Elizabeth, Princess, of France, 
her christening, 308; proposals 
of marriage, 392, 412, 446; 
marriage with Philip of Spain, 
456 

Elizabeth, Queen of England, her 
accession, 432 ; invitation to 
Christina, 457 

Ely, Bishop of, at the Conference 
of Cercamp, 428, 432 ; of Cateau- 
Cambresis, 436 

Emanuel, King of Portugal, 9; 
death of his second wife, 22 ; 
third marriage, 24; death, 102 

England, war declared with 
France, 417 

fipernay, 291 

Erasmus of Rotterdam, 28 

Eric, King of Sweden, his nego- 
tiations with Christina, Duchess 
of Lorraine, 478; proposal of 
marriage with Renee of Lor- 
raine, 482 ; his unstable char- 
acter, 483 ; deposed, 483 

Esclaron, 275, 476 



Esslingen, 339 

Este, Anna d', her marriage with 

Count Aumale, 326; appearance, 

326 
Este, Duchess Beatrice d', 7; her 

death, 72; country-house of 

Cussago, 89 
Este, Francesco d', 289 
Etampes, Madame d', 179,245, 293 
Exeter, Lord, imprisoned in the 

Tower, 186; his execution, 186 

Farnese, Cardinal, 225, 228, 235 

Farnese, Cecilia, 115 

Farnese, Ottavio, 354, 410 

Farnese, Vittoria, 225; her mar 
riage, 270 

Fa ye, Hugues de la, his decoration 
of the J: alace of Nancy, 272 

Ferdinand, King, his marriage, 
1 1 ; at Nuremberg, 40 ; his treat- 
ment of his sister Isabella, 40; 
King of the Romans, at Ghent, 
230; departure from, 235; at 
Augsbvirg, 318, 337; death of 
his wife, 319; love of music, 320 ; 
his portrait, 322 ; refusal to 
accept Philip of Spain as 
coadjutor, 341-345; his char- 
acter, 344; death, 478 

F^re, La, 183 

Feria, Count, 425, 431 

Ferrara, Alfonso d' Este, Duke of, 
95 ; at the wedding of the Duke 
of Milan, 95 ; his death, 95 ; 
will, 95 

Ferrari, Gian Battista, 153; his 
impressions of England, 170; of 
Henry VIII., 171 

Fiennes, Madame de, 79 

Florence, 508 

Florence, Alexander, Duke of, 115 

Flushing, 406 

Foix, Ciermaine de, 28 

Fontaine, M. de, 374 

Fontainebleau, 221, 265, 279 

Forstemann, C., " Neues Urkun- 
denbuch," 41 note, 530 

France, war declared with Eng- 
land, 417 ; outbreak of civil war, 

471. 487 
Francis I., King of France, on 
Henry VIII. 's proposed mar- 
riage, 147; his reconciliation 
with Charles V., 172; meeting 
with Queen Mary of Hungary, 
177; treaty with Charles V., 
195; reception of Frederic, 



INDEX 



549 



Count Palatine, and Dorothea, 
211 ; reception of Charles V., 
221-223; on the death of Crom- 
well, 237; treatment of the 
Duke of Lorraine, 265 ; demands 
the cession of Stenay, 266; his 
secret treaty with Christian III., 
275; at Esclaron, 275; cam- 
paign against Charles V., 277; 
disbands his forces, 277; terms 
of peace, 292; death of his son, 
304; at Joinville, 311, 313; at 
Bar, 311 ; his death, 315 

Francis II., King of France, his 
protest against the treaty, 292 ; 
marriage with Mary, Queen of 
Scots, 420; accession, 457; coro- 
nation, 460; at Lorraine, 461; 
at Blois, 462; death, 464 

Frankfurt, 470 

Frederic II., Elector Palatine, his 
affection for Eleanor of Austria, 
21; banished from Court, 23; 
his negotiations of marriage, 
102-104; marriage, 105; at To- 
ledo, 211 ; his visit to the King 
of France, 211; illness, 211; at 
the Hague, 212; visit to Eng- 
land, 213-217; reception at 
Windsor, 215; return to Brus- 
sels, 217; his designs against 
Denmark, 230; efforts to raise 
a loan, 241 ; his claim to Den- 
mark, 274; succeeds to the 
Palatinate, 282; joins the 
League of Schmalkalde, 317; his 
loyalty to Charles V. , 317; love 
of travel, 3 5 ^ ; journey to 
Nancy, 351-353; his influence 
in Germany, 378; welcome to 
Christina, 379; his death, 402; 
burial, 403 

Frederic, King of Denmark, recog- 
nition of his title, 42 ; death, 72 

Frederic III., King of Denmark, 
his unpopularity, 468; nego- 
tiations of marriage with Renee 
of Lorraine, 475 

Frederic of Zimmern, Elector 
Palatine, 469 

French, the, threaten to invade 
Milan, 116 

Friedberg, Castle of, 488 

Friedewald, treaty at, 354 

Friedmann, P., " Les Depeches de 
Michieli," 398 note, 530 

Frizzi, A., "Memorie per la Storia 
di Ferrara," 530 



Gachard, L., " Relation des 
Troubles de Gand," 220 note, 
228 note, 530; " Retraite et 
Mort de Charles V.," 62 note, 
331 note, 530; "Voyages de 
Charles V.," 283 note, 319 note, 
530; "Voyages des Souverains 
des Pays-Bas," i, 117 note, 246 
note, 530 

Gadio, Innocenzo, 347 ; letter from 
Contessa Trivulzio, 526 

Gaillard, M., Director of the 
Brussels Archives, vii 

Gallerati, Count Tommaso, 75 

Gambara, Cesare, Bishop of Tor- 
tona, 500 

Gardner, E., " A King of Court 
Poets," 95 note, 530 

Garonne, the, 250 

Gaye, G., " Carteggio Inedito di 
Artisti dei Secoli XV.," 530 

Gemappes, Castle of, 43 

Gembloux, victory of, 494 

Genoa, 119 

Ghent, 29, 78, 406, 416, 457 ; revolt 
at, 219; royal procession into, 
228 ; sentence of condemnation, 
229; riots at, 485 

Gheynst, Margaret van, 410 

Ghilino, Camillo, Ambassador to 
Milan, 74, 85, 106; " Annali di 
Alessandria," 107 note, 498 note, 
530; his illness and death, 107 

Gioe, Court - Marshal Magnus, 
Danish Ambassador, 1 2 ; repre- 
sentative of King Christian II. 
at his marriage, 1 3 

Giussani, Signor Achille, vii 

Glay, E. Le, " Correspondance 
I'Empereur Maximilian I. et de 
Marguerite d'Autriche," 5 note, 

531 
Gomez, Ruy, 338; in London, 391 ; 

at the Conference of Cercamp, 

428 
Gonzaga, Chiara, 258 
Gonzaga, Cardinal Ercole, 91 
Gonzaga, Ferrante, 66; recovers 

Luxembourg, 284; at St. Dizier, 

286; in London, 391 
Gorzes, Abbey of, 356 
Gottingen, 503 
Goulart , S., " Memoir es de la 

Ligue," S06 note, 530 
Granado, Sir Jacques de, 416 
Granvelle, Imperial Chancellor, 

114; letters from Christina, 

Duchess of Lorraine, on the 

36 



S50 



INDEX 



cession of Stenay, 266, 271; his 
portrait, 322 ; death, 342 

Granvelle, Antoine Perrenot, 
created Cardinal, 470 ; com- 
pelled to retire, 473; his re- 
ception at Nancy, 474; on the 
efiorts of Christina, Duchess of 
Lorraine, to recover Denmark, 
488; his death, 505; " Papiers 
d'Etat," 114 note, 128 note, 220 
note, 277 note, 530 

Gravelines, victory at, 424 

Gravelines, Captain of, 198 

Gravesend, 413 

Great Mary, 35 

Greenwich, 37, 412 

Gregory XIII., Pope, 499 

Gresham, Sir Thomas, 395 ; present 
at the abdication of Charles V., 
401 

Grey, Lady Katherine, 158 note 

Groenendal, Abbey of, 287 

Griimbach, Willem von, 475 

Guasco, Maddalena, 509 

Guazzo, Giorgio, 75; " Historic 
d'ltaUa," 92 note, 530 

Guelders, Charles of Egmont, 
Duke of: his proposal of mar- 
riage, 10; conflict with the 
Regent of the Netherlands, 36 ; 
his illness, 138; choice of a 
successor, 138 

Guelders, Philippa of. See 
Philippa, Duchess of Lorraine 

Guicciardini, L., " Paesi-Bassi," 
141 note, 530 

Guise, Anna d' Este, Duchess of, 
birth of a son, 334 

Guise, Antoinette de Bourbon, 
Duchess of, 147, 258; her letters 
to her daughter, 167, 168 note, 
518, 519, 520, 522; on the mar- 
riage of the Prince of Orange, 
240 ; her daughter Louise's mar- 
riage, 243; account of the fes- 
tivities at Guise, 246; at Pont- 
a-Mousson, 253; her sons and 
daughters, 259; reception of 
Christina, Duchess of Lorraine, 
268; return to Joinville, 295; 
death of her husband, 335; of 
her grandson, 356; at the wed- 
ding of Henry III. of France, 
490; her death, 505 

Guise, Antoinette de, goes to the 
convent at Reims, 270 

Guise, Claude, Duke of, 146, 179. 
258; at Pont-a-Mousson, 253; 



return to Joinville, 295; at the 
funeral of the Duke of Lor- 
raine, 309; his illness, 334; 
death, 335; funeral, 335; monu- 
ment, 336 

Guise, Francis, Duke of, christen- 
ing of his daughter, 356; his 
capture of Calais, 420; at the 
coronation of Charles IX., 467; 
murdered, 471, 508 

Guise, Louise de, her appearance, 
164; portrait, 165; attack of 
fever, 167; proposal of marriage, 
242 ; wedding, 244. See Chimay 

Guise, Mary, Queen of Scotland. 
See Mary 

Guise, Renee de, her appearance, 
165; at the Convent of Reims, 
167; Abbess of the Convent of 
St. Pierre, 314 

Guzman, Don Gabriel de, 291 

Gyldenstern, Knut, 64 

Hackett, John, Ambassador at 

Brussels, 85 
Hagberg-Wright, Dr., viii 
Haile, M., "Life of Reginald 

Pole," 389 note, 530 
Hainault, invasion of the French, 

389 
Hall, Hubert, vii 
Hallays, A., " Nancy," 258 note, 

260 note, 316 note 
Halle, 317 

Hamburg, Congress at, 42 
Hampton Court, 159, 216, 391 
Hannart, his opinion of the King 

and Queen of Denmark, 40 
Hans, King of Denmark, 18 
Haiisser, L., " Geschichte der 

Rheinischen Pfalz," 531 
Haussonville, Baron d'. Governor 

of Nancy, 360, 363 
Hawkins, on the marriage of the 

Duke of Milan, 75 
Heidelberg, 105, 134. 378; castle 

at, 351. 353 
Heinrich, Otto, Elector Palatme, 

403 ; his death, 469 
Held, Dr. Matthias, 133 
Helsingfors, 15 
Henne, A., " Histoire du Regne 

de Charles V.," 11 note, 531 
Henri le Balafre, his birth, 334 
Henry II., King of France, 178, 

333, 490; his state entry into 

Paris, 334; declares war, 354; 

his advance on Reims. 359; at 



INDEX 



551 



Joinville, 360; reception of 
Christina, Duchess of Lorraine, 
361; enters Nancy, 362; arbi- 
trary conditions, 364; deprives 
Christina of her son, 364-370; 
at Strasburg, 371; retreat, 373; 
orders Christina to leave Lor- 
raine, 374; invasion of Hainault, 
389; destruction of the Palace 
of Binche, 390; his threat to 
occupy Nancy, 408; wish for 
peace, 426, 429; wounded, 456; 
death, 457 
Henry III., King of France, his 
marriage with Louise of Vaude- 
mont, 490 
Henry VII., King of England, 4 
Henry VIII., King of England, 
his reception of King Christian 
II. of Denmark, 37; his wives, 
144, 206; proposals of marriage, 
146; negotiations of marriage 
with Christina, Duchess of 
Milan, 150-164, 168, 173; por- 
trait, 15s; illness, 164, 315; 
wish to see the French Prin- 
cesses, 165 ; excommunicated by 
Pope Paul III., 195; negotia- 
tions of marriage broken off, v, 
204; his reception of Frederic, 
Count Palatine, 215; marriage 
with Anne of Cleves, 217; his 
opinion of her, 236; annuls his 
marriage, 236; vexation at the 
marriage of Christina, 251 ; trial 
and execution of his fifth wife, 
273 ; his secret treaty with 
Charles V., 280; invasion of 
Picardy, 284; takes possession 
of Boulogne, 292; attack of 
fever, 315; death, 315 
Herbesteiner, Sigismund, 20 
Hesdin, fort of, razed, 385 
Hesse, Christina of, her marriage, 

479 

Hesse, Landgrave Philip of, 479; 
taken prisoner, 318; on the 
journey of Christina, Duchess of 
Lorraine, to Brussels, 481 

Heverle, 252 

Hill, G. F., viii 

Hoby, Sir Philip, 155, 156; his 
interview with Christina, 
Duchess of Milan, 157, 168 
note : his mission to Joinville, 
166, 
168 note : Ambassador, 385 

Hoby, Thomas, at Augsburg, 323; 



"Memoirs," 323 note, 531; his 

translation of "Cortegiano," 385 

Hoh-Konigsberg, fortress of, 318, 

377 

Holbein, Hans, his portrait of 
Christina, Duchess of Milan, v, 
157, 158 note, 514; other por- 
traits, 155 

Holland, invasion of, 62 

Holstein, Adolf, Duke of, at 
Brussels, 325, 327; breaks off 
his engagement with Fraulein 
Kunigunde, 328; courtship of 
Christina, Duchess of Lorraine, 
328, 387, 402; takes leave of 
Charles V., 402; his marriage 
with Christina of Hesse, 479 

Holstein, Frederic, Duke of, his 
hostile attitude to King Chris- 
tian II. of Denmark, 33 ; elected 
King of Denmark, 33, 39 

Hoogstraaten, Commissioner, 184 

Horn, Count, arrested, 486 

Howard, Lord William, 146, 255; 
recalled and sent to the Tower, 
273; created a peer, 437. See 
Effingham 

Howard, Queen Catherine, her 
trial and execution, 273 

Hubert, his Chronicle of Charles 
v., 103 

Hugo, L., " Traite sur I'Origine 
de la Maison de Lorraine," 238 
note, 531 

Huguenot conspiracy, discovery 
of a, 463 

Hungary, Ladislaus, King of, 11 

Hungary, Mary, Queen of, 11. 
See Mary 

Hutton, John, Ambassador, 137; 
his opinion of Christina, Duch- 
ess of Milan, 149, 153, 161; his 
method of ingratiating himself 
with Mary, Queen of Hungary, 
161 ; illness and death, 171 

Hvidore, 15 

Innsbruck, 7, 57, 60, 134, 355 

Isabella, Empress, birth of a son, 
210; death, 210 

Isabella of Aragon, 94 

Isabella of Austria, 4; her birth, 
4 ; attack of smallpox, 5 ; edu- 
cation, 6; offers of marriage, 
10; dowry, 12; marriage cere- 
mony, 13; journey to Copen- 
hagen, 1 5 ; letter to her aunt, 
15; state entry, 15; her wed- 



552 



INDEX 



ding with King Christian II. of 
Denmark, 15; coronation, 16; 
illness, 16, 45; her miserable 
life, 22; birth of a son, 24; 
birth and death of twin sons, 
25 ; birth of her daughters, 27, 
32; flight from Denmark, 35; 
return to Malines, 36, 39; arrival 
in England, 37; noble quahties, 
38; loyalty to her husband, 40; 
embraces the Lutheran faith, 
40; at Lierre, 44; her straits 
for money, 44; death, vi, 46; 
burial, 47; monument, 47; 
destruction of her tomb, 485 

Isabella of Portugal, her mar- 
riage, 48 

Isere, gorge of the, 86 

James V., King of Scotland, 30, 
59; his fickle character, 71, 10 1 ; 
marriages, 147, 148, 165; death, 
278 

Jean de Maurienne, S., 86 

John, Prince, of Denmark, 24, 35; 
under the care of the Regent, 
50; his education, 50; life at 
MaUnes, 50-53; portrait, 54; 
character, 54; meeting with his 
uncle, 59; journey to Brussels, 
66; at Regensburg, 67; illness 
and death, 68 

Joinville, 166, 244, 268, 311, 360; 
destruction of, averted, 290 

Joinville, Henri, Prince of, 421 

Juana, Queen, 61 ; death of her 
husband, 2; her children, 4; 
death. 398 

Jiilich, 416 

Julius II., Pope, 7 

Juste, T., " Les Pays-Bas sous 
Charles V.," 62 note, 66 note, 
531; "Marie de Hongrie," 294 
note, 390 note, 531 

Jutland, 15; rising in, 31; inva 
sion of, 103 

Kallundborg Castle, 327, 449 
Katherine, Queen of England, 

37; her death, 145 
Katherine, Queen of Portugal, 

birth of a son, 66 
Kaulek, J., " Correspondance 

Politique de M. de Castillon," 

147 note, 531 
Kildare, Lady. 413 
Kostlin, J., " Leben Luthers," 41 

note, 531 



Kunigunde, von Brandenburg, 

Fraulein, 328 
Ladislaus, King of Hungary, 11 
Lalaing, Count, 184, 241, 411; at 

Augsburg, 338 
Landau, 377 
Landrecy, siege of, 280 
Lanz, K., " Correspondenz Karls 

v.," 42 note, 531 
Lavisse, E., " Histoirede F"rance," 

53^ 

Laxou, 254 

Lecce, Castle of , 455 

Leghorn, 508 

Leigh, John, 459 

Lennox, Lady, 413 

Lenoncourt, M. de, 508 

Leo X., Pope, 72 

Leonardo, his picture the " Cena- 
colo," 272 

Lepage, H., " Le Palais Ducal de 
Nancy," 260 note, 261 note, 273 
note, 295 note, 323 note, 472 
note, 491 note, 531; " Lettres de 
Charles III.," 508 note, 531 

Leva, G. de, " Storia Documen- 
tata di Carlo V.," 113 note, 

531 

Leyden, Lucas van, 28 

Leyva, Antonio de, 89, 90, 94, 
109; appointed Governor-Gen- 
eral of Milan, 112; his death, 
118 

Liege, Bishop of, 1 54 

Lierre, 44 

Ligier-Richier, fils, Jean, 510 

Ligier-Richier, Jean, his ef&gy of 
Rene, Prince of Orange, 288; of 
Queen Philippa, 316 

Ligny, 277 

Lille, 79; military operations at, 

137 
Linz, 12 

Lisle, Lady, 214, 217 

Lisle, Lord, Deputy Governor of 

Calais, 204, 214 
Litta, P., " Famiglie Celebri," 531 
Llan Hawaden, 205, 206 
Loches, 221 
Lodge, E., " Illustrations," 328 

note, 384 note, 531 
Lomboni, Don Antonio, 96 
Longueval, De, 304 
Longueville, Duke of, 253, 268, 

307 ; at Esclaron, 275 ; his death, 

356 
Longueville, Mary, Duchess of, 

146; offers of marriage, 147; 



INDEX 



553 



marriage with James V., King 
of Scotland, 148, 165 

Longwy, Castle of, 279 

Loreto, pilgrimage to the shrine 
of, 497 

Lorraine: surrender of, 512; a 
province of France, 513 

Lorraine, Anne da, her appear- 
ance, 167; marriage with Prince 
Rene of Orange, 239. See 
Orange and Aerschot 

Lorraine, Antoine, Duke of, 179; 
his marriage, 11, 258; character 
of his administration, 261 ; 
death of his wife, 262; at 
Fontainebleau, 265 ; yields the 
fortress of Stenay, 266; his 
mediation for peace between 
Charles V. and King Francis, 
281, 284; illness and death, 284; 
funeral, 305 

Lorraine, Antoinette de, Duchess 
of Cleves, 512 

Lorraine, Cardinal of, 239, 423 ; 
at the Conference for peace at 
Cercamp, 426 

Lorraine, Catherine of, takes the 
veil, 512; founds a Capucin 
convent, 512; appointed Abbess 
of Remiremont, 512 

Lorraine, Charles III., Duke of, 
his birth, 279; appearance, 352, 
364; reception of Henry II., 
363; parting with his mother, 
366, 370; at Joinville, 370; his 
proposed marriage with Prin- 
cess Claude, 419; portrait, 420; 
meeting with his mother, 421- 
423, 435, 440; his feats of 
horsemanship, 422; return to 
Compiegne, 423; lavish gener- 
osity, 435; his wedding, 435; 
meeting with Philip of Spain, 
441; at Brussels, 449; at Am- 
boise, 463 ; at the coronation of 
Charles IX., 467; state entry 
into Nancy, 47 1 ; enlarges the 
ducal palace, 472 ; his sons and 
daughters, 489; death of his 
wife, 490 ; love of learning, 491 ; 
marriage of his daughter Chris- 
tina, 508; death, 511 

Lorraine, Christina, Duchess of 
See Christina 

Lorraine, Christine de, 489; at 
the French Court, 490, 507; 
her marriage with the Grand- 
Duke Ferdinand of Tuscany, 



507, 508; festivities at Florence, 
508; her portrait, 509 

Lorraine, Claude, Duchess of, at 
Mon Soulas, 442; birth of a 
son, 473; attack of smallpox, 
473; her sons and daughters, 
489; death, 490; portrait, 509 

Lorraine, Dorothea of, her birth, 
302; appearance, 352; marriage 
with Duke Eric of Brunswick, 
490 ; death of her husband, 503 ; 
her second marriage, 511; death, 
511. See Brunswick 

Lorraine, Elizabeth of, her mar- 
riage, 512 

Lorraine, Francis I., Duke of, 
vi, 179; his betrothal to Chris- 
tina, Duchess of Milan, 244; 
marriage, 245, 251; assumes 
the title of Duke of Bar, 249; 
receives the Order of St. Michel, 
265, 271 ; his grief at the cession 
of Stenay, 266, 271 ; illness, 284, 
291, 294, 296; succeeds to the 
dukedom, 284; his efforts for 
peace, 291 ; love of music, 294; 
his entry into Nancy, 296 ; 
death, 297 ; funeral, 309 

Lorraine, Francis HI., Duke of, 
his marriage with Maria 
Theresa, 512; surrenders Lor- 
raine, 512 

Lorraine, Henry, Duke of, his 
birth, 473; christening, 476 

Lorraine, John of, 257 

Lorraine, Louise de, Princesse de 
Chimay, her letter to Mary, 
Queen of Scots, 1521, See 
Chimay 

Lorraine, PhiUppa, Duchess of, 
254, 257, 259; her sons, 258 

Lorraine, Raoul of, 256 

Lorraine, Rene II., Duke of, 257; 
his sons, 258 

Lorraine, Renee de Bourbon, 
Duchess of, 179; her character, 
259; influence on art, 260; 
death, 262; her children, 263 

Lorraine, Renee de, her birth, 
283; appearance, 352; offer of 
marriage from Eric, King of 
Sweden, 482; her suitors, 487; 
marriage with Duke William 
of Bavaria, 488 

Lorraine, Yolande, Duchess of, 
257 

Louis, King of Hungary, his death 
at the Battle of Mohacz, 59 



554 



INDEX 



Louis XII. of France, 4 ; his 
marriage, 1 1 

Louis XIII. of France, 512 

Louvain, 61, 78, 135 

Luna, Captain Alvarez de, 122 

Lunden, Archbishop of, 103 

Luneville, 353 

Luther, Martin, his friendship 
with King Christian II. of Den- 
mark, 41 ; tribute to the memory 
of Queen Isabella, 47 ; his ap- 
peal to King Frederic of Den- 
mark, 70 

Luxembourg, 245, 252, 284, 337; 
siege of, 374 

Mabuse, Jehan, designs the monu- 
ment of Queen Isabella of Den- 
mark, 47; his picture of the 
King of Denmark's children, 53 

Macedonia, Constantine Com- 
menus. Prince of, 99 

Macedonia, Francesca Paleologa, 
Princess of, 279; her attach- 
ment to the Duchess of Milan, 
99; at Codogno, 130; at Reims, 
467 

Machyn, H., " Diary of a Citizen 
of London," 531 

Mackenzie, Sir Kenneth, viii 

Maestricht, 135; rising at, 220 

Magdeburg, siege of, 341 

Magenta, C, "I Visconti e gli 
Sforza nel Castello di Pavia," 
93 note, 531 

Maiocchi, Monsignor Rodolfo, 
Rector of the Borromeo College 
at Pavia, vii 

Maire, Jehan Le, " Les Funeraux 
de Feu Don Philippe," 2 note; 
his elegy of " L'Amant Vert." 
52' 

Malines, 2, 4, 36, 39, 57, 61 

Mansfeldt, Count, 477 

Mantua, 131 

Mantua, Federico, Duke of, 74 

Marck, 397 

Marck, Margaret la, 331 

Marcoing, 421 

Margaret of Austria, Regent of 
the Netherlands, 2, 4; death of 
her two husbands, 3; under- 
takes the care of her nephew 
and nieces, 4; meeting with 
King Christian II. of Denmark, 
28; reception of the King and 
Queen of Denmark, 36; conflict 
with Charles of Guelders, 36; 



concludes a treaty with King 
Frederic of Denmark, 42; ob- 
tains possession of Isabella's 
children, 49; her tapestries and 
family portraits, 51; pets, 52; 
amusements, 53; illness, 57; 
letter to her nephew, 58; death, 
58 

Margaret, Princess, of France, her 
appearance, 178; negotiations 
for her marriage, 313; proposed 
union with the Duke of Savoy, 
429, 443 ; marriage, 456 

Maria, Empress - Dowager, her 
visit to Tortona, 500 

Maria, Infanta, of Portugal, 151 

Maria Theresa, Empress, 511 

Marienburg, 389 

Marignano, Battle of, 258 

Marignano, Marquess of, at St. 
Dizier, 286 

Marillac, French Ambassador , 
213, 346 

Marne River, 259, 268, 286 

Marnot, Nicholas de, 104; at 
Milan, 104 

Mary, Archduchess of Austria, 
her birth, 4; attack of small- 
pox, 5 ; Queen of Hungary, 9, 
11; death of her husband, 59; 
offers of marriage, 59; her 
fondness for riding, 60; her 
powers of mind, 60; sympathy 
with the reformers, 60 ; accepts 
the Regency of the Low Coun- 
tries, 61; enters Louvain, 61; 
at Malines, 61 ; her reforms, 62 ; 
care of her nieces, 70 ; protest 
against the proposed marriage 
of her niece Christina, 76; 
efforts to delay the marriage, 
79; her welcome to her niece 
Christina, 135; superintends the 
military operations at Lille, 
137; anxiety for peace, 137; her 
opinion of Henry VII I., 144; 
at the Castle of Breda, 174; 
her meeting with King Francis 
at Compiegne, 177; with her 
sister Eleanor, 178; return to 
Brussels, 183, 346; difficulties 
of her position with the EngUsh 
Ambassadors, 1 86-1 91; inter- 
views with Wriothesley, 189, 
190; entertained by him, 199; 
her measures to suppress the 
insurrection, 219; reception of 
Charles V., 224; protest against 



INDEX 



555 



the cession of Stenay, 267; 
grief at the death of the Prince 
of Orange, 287; at Augsburg, 
318, 340, 342, 344; protest 
against Henry II. 's treatment 
of Christina, 370; her banquet 
on the accession of Queen Mary, 
386; on the destruction of her 
palace of Binche, 390; resigns 
the Regency, 399, 401 ; present 
at the abdication of Charles V., 
400; retires to Turnhout, 405; 
her death, 431; funeral, 433; 
letter from Christina, 523; 
from Anne, Duchess of Aer- 
schot, 523 

Mary of Castille, Queen of Por- 
tugal, her death, 22 

Mary, Princess, of England, 6; 
her marriage, 1 1 

Mary, Queen of England, her 
proposed marriage with the 
Infant Don Louis of Portugal, 
162; her accession, 386; pro- 
posed union with Philip of 
Spain, 387; her wedding, 388; 
supposed birth of a son, 395 ; 
ill-temper at the absence of 
her husband, 409; illness, 431; 
death, 432; letter from Chris- 
tina, Duchess of Lorraine, 526 

Mary, Dowager-Queen of Scot- 
land, letters from her mother, 
167, 168 note. 518, 519, 520, 
522; death of her children, 
269; birth of a daughter, 278; 
death of her husband, 278; of 
her father, 335 ; of her son, 356; 
letter from the Princess de 
Chimay, 521 

Mary, Queen of Scots, her arrival 
in France, 333; marriage with 
Francis II. of France, 420; at 
Lorraine, 461; at Blois, 462; 
death of her husband, 464; at 
Joinville, 464; at Nancy, 465; 
her appearance, 465; portrait, 
465 ; ofEers of marriage, 465 ; 
attack of fever, 466; her mar- 
riage with Darnley, 485 ; com- 
pelled to abdicate, 487; death 
on the scafiold, 504 

Masone, Sir John, Ambassador, 

393 
Mauris, St., Ambassador, 296, 

300 
Maximilian I., Emperor, 3; his 

grandchildren, 5; at Brussels, 



8; war against Venice, 9; his 
letter on the misconduct of 
King Christian II., 20; his 
death, 24 

Maximilian, King of Bohemia, at 
Augsburg, 318, 320, 338; his 
character, 344; rivalry with 
Philip of Spain, 345 ; at Brussels, 
405; crowned King of the 
Romans, 470 

Mayenne, Louise, Marchioness of, 
310 

Mazzenta, Guido, 97 

Medemblik, 63 

Medici, Alessandro de', Duke of 
Florence, murdered, 410 

Medici, Catherine de", 74, 178, 
464; her reception of Christina, 
Duchess of Lorraine, 467; 
jealousy of her influence, 473; 
death, 508 

Medici, Don Pietro de', 508 

Melanchthon, 152 

Mendoza, Don Diego, 159 

Mendoza, Don Luis de, 486, 488 

Merriman, R. B., " Life and 
Letters of Thomas Cromwell," 

531 

Messina, 112 

Metz, 252, 285, 371 ; siege of, 380 

Metz, Anton de, 25, 27, 33 

Metz, M. de, 298. See Vaude- 
mont 

Mewtas, Sir Peter. 147 

Michieli, Ambassador, 396 

Middelburg, 23 

Mignet, L., " Retraite de Charles 
v.," 388 note, 531; " Rivalite 
de Francis I. et Charles V.," 
23 note, 531 

Mikkelsen, Hans, Burgomaster of 
Malmoe, 41, 46 

Milan, 497; taken by the French, 
72 ; threatened French invasion, 
116; defence of, by a Spanish 
garrison, 120 

Milan, Christina, Duchess of. 
See Christina 

Milan, Francesco Sforza, Duke of. 
his career, 72; deprived of his 
State, 72 ; return, 73 ; sufferings 
caused by a wound, 73 ; proposal 
of marriage with Christina of 
Denmark, 74; wedding by 
proxy, 81; surprise visit to his 
bride, 89; reception of her, 93; 
marriage, 94; portraits, 96; 
treatment of his wife, 97; ill- 



556 



INDEX 



ness, loo, 107; death, vi, 10 1, 
107; funeral rites, 108-110; will, 
hi; inscription on his tomb, 
511 ; letter from his wife, 516 

Milan, Lodovico Sforza, Duke of, 
7; his character, 17; imprison- 
ment, 72 

Milan, Maximilian Sforza, Duke 
of, at Malines, 7, 72; enters 
Milan, 9 

Missaglia, Alessandro, 90 

Moeller, E., " Eleonore d'Avi- 
triche," 22 note, 531 

Mohacz, Battle of , 59 

Molembais, M. de, 78 

Mon Soulas, 440 

Monboi, Hans, 45 

Mons, 176, 294, 441 

Mont, Christopher, Envoy to 
Frankfort, 209 

Montague, Lord, imprisoned in the 
Tower, 186; his execution, 186 

Montbardon, M. de, 357, 370 

Montecastello, villa at, 503 

Montemerlo, Niccolo, 498 ; 
" Nuove Historie di Tortona," 
498 note, 531 

Montmelian, fortress of, 86, 115 

Montmorency, Anne de. Con- 
stable of France, 180; his home 
at Chantilly, 181; taken 
prisoner at St. Quentin, 417, 
419; at the Conference of 
Cercamp, 428; taken prisoner 
at the Battle of Dreux, 47 1 ; 
killed at the Battle of St. Denis, 
487 

Montmorency, Floris de, 331; at 
Augsburg, 338 

Montmorency, Jean de. See 
Courrieres 

Montpensier, Duchess of, her 
christening, 356 

Montpensier, Gilbert de, 179, 258 

Montreuil, Madame de, 174 

Monzone, Imperial Council at, 126 

Morillon, Provost, 485 

Mornay, Charles de, 478 

Morosyne, Sir Richard, Ambassa- 
dor, 339, 346; on Charles V.'s 
reserve, 378; on the Marquis of 
Brandenburg's courtship of 
Christina, Duchess of Lorraine, 
384 

Moselle, the, 351 

Miihlberg, victory of, 318 

Muscovy, Czar of, Envoy from, 
in England, 413-415 



Namur, 245, 252 

Nancy, 254, 294, 296; Battle of, 
257; measures for the defence 
of, 323 ; entered by the French, 
362, 512; festivities at, 465 

Nassau, Henry, Count of, 66, 142 ; 
his third wife, 174; sudden 
death, 175 

Nassau, Rene of. Prince of Orange, 
67 

Nassau, William of, 287 

Nassau-Dillenbur, William of, 238 

Nassau-le-Grand, 285 

Navarre, Antoine, King of, mor- 
tally wounded, 471 

Navarre, Henri d'Albret of, 10 ; 
his marriage, 10 

Navarre, Henry, King of, his 
proposal of marriage with Chris- 
tina, Duchess of Lorraine, 383 

Navarre, Isabel of, 102 

Navarre, Jeanne d'Albret, Prin- 
cess of, proposal of marriage 
with the Duke of Cleves, 235, 
244; her resistance to the mar- 
riage, 249; wedding, 250; an- 
nulment of her marriage, 280; 
marriage with the Duke of 
Vendome, 326 

Navarre, Margaret, Queen of, 10 

Neckar, the, 339 

Negriolo, Gtrolamo, 90 

Netherlands, choice of a Regent, 
451; discontent of the people 
at the appointment of the 
Duchess of Parma, 458, 459 

Netherlands, Margaret, Regent of 
4. See Margaret 

Neuburg, 417, 468 

Neumarkt, 103, 105 

Nevill, Sir Edward, his execution, 
186 

Nice, 119 

Nicole, Madame, 300, 342 

Nimeguen, 138 

Noailles, Ambassador, 396 

Nomeny, 358; castle at, 351 

Norfolk, Duchess of, 273 

Norfolk, Henry Howard, sixth 
Duke of, 158 note 

Norway, reception of King Chris- 
tian II. in, 64 

Nott, G., "Life of Wyatt," 169 
note, 204 note, 531 

No vara, 83, 87 

Nubilonio, " Cronaca di Vige- 
vano," 93 note, 531 

Nuremberg, ^o 



INDEX 



557 



Ochsenthal, vale of the, 352 

Odensee, Palace of, 32 

Oglio, 130 

Oise, the, 178, 183 

Oldenburg, Chi-istopher of, his 
invasion of Jutland, 103 

Olisleger, Chancellor, 249 

Oppenheimer, Henry, viii 

Orange, Anne, Princess of, 263 ; 
death of her husband, 287, at 
Nancy, 303 ; her friendship with 
Christina, Duchess of Lorraine, 
303; her character. 303; at the 
funeral of the Duke of Lor- 
raine, 3 10 ; her letter to the 
Queen of Scotland, 311; mar- 
riage with the Duke of Aerschot, 
323. See Aerschot 

Orange, Rene, Prince of, at 
Brussels, 142, 201 ; at the Castle 
of Breda, 1 74 ; his aSection for 
Christina, Duchess of Milan 
218, 232, 238; popularity, 238 
marriage with Anne of Lor- 
raine, 239; at St. Dizier, 286 
his death, 286; will, 288; tomb 
288; lines on, 289 

Orange, William, Prince of, 322 
in London, 391 ; present at the 
abdication of Charles V., 400 
death of his wife, 425; his 
appearance, 425; affection for 
Christina, Duchess of Lorraine. 
425; at the Conference of Cer- 
camp, 428; at the funeral of 
Charles V., 434; at the Confer- 
ence of Cateau-Cambresis, 437; 
his proposed marriage with 
Renee of Lorraine, 455 ; debts, 
455; his treatment of Christina, 
458; raarriage with Anna of 
Saxony, 460 ; at Frankfurt, 470 ; 
retires to Germany, 486; ban 
against, 503; assassination, 504 

Orleans, Charles, Duke of, his 
character, 178; at Brussels, 293; 
death, 304 

Orleans, Gaston, Duke of, 512 

Orleans, Henry, Duke of, 74, 113 

Orleans, Margaret of, 512 

Or ley, Bernhard van, his portrait 
of Christina, Duchess of Milan, 
155, is8 note 

Osiander, the Lutheran doctor, 41 

Oslo, 64 

Oxe, Peder, exiled from Denmark, 
457, 468; his return to Copen- 
hagen, 483 



Paget, Ambassador, at Fontaine- 
bleau, 267 

Paleologa, Francisca, Princess of 
Macedonia, her attachment to 
the Duchess of Milan, 99. See 
Macedonia 

Paleologa, Margherita, 73; 
Duchess of Mantua, 74 

Palermo, 107 

Panigarola, Gabriele, appointed 
Governor of Tortona, 129 

Panizone, Guglielmo, 170 

Paris, 222 

Parma, War of, 355 

Parma, Alexander of, 410 

Parma, Margaret, Duchess of, her 
marriages, 410; son, 410; at 
Brussels, 411; her character, 
411; visit to England, 413-415; 
appointed Regent of the Nether- 
lands, 452, 458; her relations 
with Christina, Duchess of 
Lorraine, 459; unpopularity, 
470; her treatment of Anne, 
Duchess of Aerschot, 484; her 
death, 505 

Parroy, Sieur de, in charge of 
Stenay, 365, 367 

Passau, Conference at, 376 

Pastor, L., " Geschichte d. Pap- 
sti," 132 note; " Reise des 
Kardinal Luigi d'Arragona," 
141 note 

Pate, Archdeacon Richard, Am- 
bassador, 237, 241 

Paul ni.. Pope, 106, 114; his 
excommunication of Henry 
VIII., 195 

Paul IV., Pope, his war with 
Alva, Viceroy of Naples, 409 

Pa via, 122; Castello of, 117 

Pellizone, Lodovico, 123 

Pembroke, Lord, 415 

Pero, Massimo del, 347 

Peronne, 423 

Petit, J. F. Le, " Grande Chron- 
ique de HoUande," 445 note, 531 

Petre, Dr., 206 

Petri, Nicolas, Canon of Lunden, 

43' 45 

Pfister, C, " Histoire de Nancy, 
253 note, 260 note 

Philip I., King of Castille and 
Archduke of Austria, his death, 
I ; funeral, 2 ; children, 4 

Philip II. of Spain, invested with 
the Duchy of Milan, 244; his 
marriage settled with the In- 



558 



INDEX 



fanta of Portugal, 280; death 
of his wife, 313; state entry 
into Brussels, 329; appearance, 
330; character, 330, 341, 345; 
attentions to Christina, Duchess 
of Lorraine, 331; fetes in his 
honour, 333; at Augsburg, 337; 
his tournament, 338; rivalry 
with Maximilian, King of Bo- 
hemia, 345 ; return to Spain, 
347 ; proposed union with Mary, 
Queen of England, 387; por- 
trait, 388; wedding, 388; leaves 
London, 399; at Brussels, 400, 
417; present at the abdication 
of Charles V., 400; investiture, 
40 1 ; his first Chapter of the 
Fleece, 403; signs the treaty of 
peace, 404; his affection for 
Christina, 408; delay in return- 
ing to England, 409; at Green- 
wich, 412; capture of St. Quen- 
tin, 417; death of his wife, 
433; at the funeral of Charles 
v., 434; his meeting with 
Charles, Duke of Lorraine, 
441; proposal of marriage with 
Princess Elizabeth of France, 
446; appoints his sister Mar- 
garet Regent of the Nether- 
lands, 452; his marriage, 456; 
at Ghent, 457; his indifference 
to the illness of Christina, 477; 
his treatment of her, vi, 501, 

503, 514 

Philippa, Queen, her home in the 
convent, 254, 259, 285; death, 
315; funeral, 316; monument, 
316. See Lorraine 

Philippeville, citadel of, 398 

Piacenza, citadel of, 410 

Picardy, invasion of, 284 

Piedmont, Emanuel Philibert, 
Duke of Savoy, 113; at Milan, 
116; at Augsburg, 320; in com- 
mand of the Imperial Army, 
385; his courtship of Christina, 
Duchess of Lorraine, 387; suc- 
ceeds to the title of Duke of 
Savoy, 391 ; at Whitehall, 392 

Piedmont, Prince Louis of, his 
death, 113 

Pimodan, G., " La Mdre des 
Guises," 147 note, 531 

Po, the, 116, 117, 130 

Pois, Nicolas le, 296 

Poitiers, Diane de, 179 

Pol, S., capture of, 126 



Poland, Bona Sforza, Queen of, 
her letter to the Duke of Milan 
on his marriage. 95 

Poland, Sigismund, King of, 95 

Pole, Cardinal, 195; at Toledo, 
203; his aversion to Queen 
Mary's marriage with Philip of 
Spain, 389; received at White- 
hall, 391 

Polweiler, Baron de. Bailiff of 
Hagenau, 476, 480 

Pont-4-Mousson, 253, 285 351, 
380, 474; University at, 491 

Pont-^-Mousson, Francis, Mar- 
quis o;f, his courtship of the 
Duchess of Milan, 207; mar- 
riage, 245 ; receives the title of 
Duke of Bar, 246, 249; his 
birth, 263 ; studious tastes, 263 ; 
proposed marriages, 263 ; his 
choice of Christina, 264. See 
Lorraine 

Poor Clares, Order of the, 254, 
259 

Porta, G., "Alessandria Descrit- 
ta," 500 note, 531 

Portugal, invasion of, 502 

Portugal, Eleanor, Queen of. See 
Eleanor 

Portugal, Emanuel, King of. See 
Emanuel 

Portugal, Infant Don Louis of, his 
proposed union with Princess 
Mary of England, 162 

Portugal, Infanta of, her marriage 
with Philip of Spain, 280 

Poynings, Sir Edward, Ambassa- 
dor at Brussels, 8 

Praet, Louis de, Imperial Am- 
bassador, 37 ; his admiration 
for Isabella, Queen of Den- 
mark, 38; at Ghent, 79; his 
oration at the marriage of the 
Duke and Duchess of Milan, 94 

Prinsterer, Groen van, " Archives 
de la Maison d' Orange et de 
Nassau," 425 note, 530 

Putnam, R., " William the Silent, 
Prince of Orange," 289 note, 532 

Pyl, Lieven, chief magistrate at 
Ghent, 219 

Quentin, St., victory of, 417 
Quievrain, Castle of, 329 

Rabutin, Francois de, 361 ; at 
Nancy, 364; "Collections de 
Memoires," 361 note, 532 



INDEX 



559 



Rambouillet, 315 

Ratti, N., "La Famiglia Sforza," 

313 note, 532 
Ravold, J. B., " Histoire de Lor- 
raine," 253 note, 532 
Regensburg, 65, 67, 245; Diet of, 

305 
Reifienberg, F. de, " Histoire de 

rOrdre de la Toison d'Or," 20 

note, 403, 532 
Reims, 360, 460, 466 
Reims, Charles, . Archbishop of, 

247 note, 253; his consecration, 

295 
Remiremont, 297 
Renard, Simon, 407 
Renty, Battle of , 390 
Reumont, A. von, " Geschichte 

Toscana," 508 note, 532 
Rhine, the, 351 
Ribier, G., " Lettres et Memoires 

d':£tat," 405 note, 532 
Richardot, Abbe, his oration 

at the funeral of Charles V., 

434 
Richmond, 159 
Richmond, Duke of, 71 
Ripalta, 497 
Rivoli, 87 

Rocca di Sparaviera, 505, 509 
Roddi, F., " Annali di Ferrara," 

95 note 
Rombaut, S., Church of, i, 2 
Roskild, Dean of, 34 
Rosieres, Les, salt-works at, 472 
Rossem, Martin van, 277 
Rostain, M. de, 374 
Rotterdam, 212 
Rouen, Siege of, 471 
Ruble, A. de, " Le Mariage de 

Jeanne d'Albret," 222 note, 249 

note, 2^6 note, 3^4 note, ^62 note, 

420 note, 532; " Traite de 

Cateau-Cambresis," 429 note, 

439 note 
Rucellai, Orazio, 507 
Rudolf II., Emperor, 512 

Saint-Hilaire, M. de, 349 
Salis, Friar Jehan de, 50 
Salm, Count Jean de, 298, 357 
Sandrart, J., "Deutsche Aka- 

demie," 274 note 
Sangiuliani, Count Antonio Ca- 

vagna, vii, 347 note 
Sanuto, Marino, 73 ; " Diarii," 63 

note, 67 note, 532 
Saragossa, 104 



Savorgnano, Mario, 63, 66 

Savoy, Beatrix of Portugal, 
Duchess of, 87; takes refuge at 
Vercelli, 116; flight to Milan, 
116; meeting with Charles V., 
117; at Nice, 119; death, 119 

Savoy, Charles III., Duke of, 
85 ; forced to evacuate Turin, 
116 

Savoy, Charles Emanuel, Duke of, 
507 

Savoy, Emanuel Philibert, Duke 
of, 391; at Whitehall, 392; his 
negotiations of marriage with 
Christina, Duchess of Lorraine, 
396-398; appointed Lieutenant- 
Governor of the Low Countries, 
399; present at the abdication 
of Charles V., 400; negotiations 
of marriage with Princess 
Elizabeth, 412; his victory of 
St. Quentin, 417; proposed 
marriage with Marguerite of 
France, 429, 443; marriage 
456 

Savoy, Margaret, Duchess of, 3 

Savoy, Duke Philibert of, his 
marriage and death, 3 

Saxe-Lauenburg, Duke of, at the 
marriage ceremony of King 
Christian II., 13 

Saxony, 40 

Saxony, Anna of, her marriage 
with William, Prince of Orange, 
460 

Saxony, Elector John Frederick 
of: taken prisoner, 318; his 
portrait, 322 

Saxony, Elector Maurice of, 285; 
his siege of Magdeburg, 341 ; 
secret intrigues with France, 
354. 357 ; killed at the battle of 
Sievershausen, 384 

Scepperus, Cornelius, 42 ; Private 
Secretary to the King of Den- 
mark, 19; his inscription on the 
tomb ot Queen Isabella of Den- 
mark, 47 

Schafer, D., " Geschichte von 
Danemark," 38 note, 532 

Scharf, Sir George, 54 note, 158 
note 

Schauwenbourg, Captain, 305 

Scheldt, River, 230; frozen over, 
411 

Schlegel, J. H., " Greschichte der 
Konige v. Danemark," 45 note, 
532 



56o 



INDEX 



Schleswig, Bishop of, ^Danish Am- 
bassador, 12 

Schlettstadt, 375 

Schmalkalde, League of, cam- 
paign against, 317; dissolved, 
318 

Schoren, Dr., Chancellor of Bra- 
bant, 184 

Scotland, Mary, Queen of. See 
Mary 

Selve, Odet de, Ambassador, 314 

Serclaes, Mademoiselle Rolande 
de, so 

Seymour, Jane, Queen of England, 
144, 151 ; her portrait, 155 

Sfondrati, Count Francesco, 78 

Sforza, Count Bosio, 115 

Sforza, Francesco, Duke of Milan, 
at Innsbruck, 7. See Milan 

Sforza, Giovanni Paolo, 90, 109; 
his illness and death, 113 

Sforza, Lodovico, Duke of Milan. 
See Milan 

Sforza, Maximilian, Duke of 
Milan, at Malines, 7, 72. See 
Milan 

Shelley, Sir Richard, 411 

Sievershausen, Battle of, 384 

Sigismund, King of Poland, 321 

Silliers, Baron de, 388; on the ill- 
ness of Christina, Duchess of 
Lorraine, 477; his death, 489 

Simonet, 125 

Sittard, defeat at, 280 

Skelton, Mary, 149 

Skippon, Phihp, 47 

Slagbok, Archbishop of Lunden, 
26; put to death, 32 

Soignies, Forest of, 141, 169, 252 

Sonderburg, island fortress of, 65 

Soranzo, Ambassador, 411 

Southampton, Lord High Ad- 
miral, 162, 215 

Souvastre, Madame de, 85, 91 

Souvastre, M. de, 44, 46 

Spain, Charles V. of. See 
Charles V. 

Spain, Infant Don Carlos of, his 
birth, 313 

Spain, PhiUp II. of. See Philip 

Spinelli, 8, 23 

Spires, 78, 282 

Stabili, Gianbattista, 510 

Stampa, Count Massimiliano, 75; 
at Ghent, 78; at Lille, 79; 
received by Queen Mary of 
Hungary, jg; representative of 
the Duke of Milan at his mar- 



riage, 81 ; his house at Cussago, 
88; entertains the Duchess of 
Milan, 88; at the funeral of the 
Duke of Milan, 109; retains his 
post of Castellan of Milan, 112; 
his gifts from Charles V., 120; 
gives up the keys, 122 

Stanislas, ex-King of Poland, at 
Nancy, 513 

Stenay, fortress of, ceded to the 
French, 266; restitution, 293; 
evacuated by the French, 304 

Stockholm, siege of, 31 ; surrender 
of, 33 

Strasburg, 371, 373, ^^77 

Stroppiana, Count, Ambassador, 
342, 344, 359; on Henry II. 's 
treatment of Christina, Duchess 
of Lorraine, 371 ; at Windsor, 
391; at the Conference of Cer- 
camp, 428 

SufEolk, Mary, Duchess of, 37 

Suffolk, Duke of, 162, 215 

Surrey, Lord, 280, 281 

Susa, towers of, 87 

Sweden, outbreak of war with 
Denmark, 475, 478 

Sweden, Eric, King of. See Eric 

Swynaerde, 45 

Tarbes, Bishop of, 168 
Tassigny, Sieur de, 357 
Taverna, Count, 74, 109 
Tencajoli, Signer O. F., vii 
Therouenne, 137; fort of, razed, 

38s 
Thionville, 252; capture of, 424 
Thomas, H. L., " Spiegel des 

Humors grosser Potentaten," 

22 note, 532 
Throckmorton, Ambassador, 461 
Tiepolo, the Venetian, 445 ; on the 

marriage of Philip of Spain with 

Princess Elizabeth, 446; on the 

appointment of the Duchess of 

Parma to the Regency of the 

Netherlands, 452 
Tiloye, La, 136 
Titian, his portraits, 96, 322; at 

Augsburg, 322 
Toledo, treaty at, 19S 
Tongres, 340 
Tortona, iii, 128, 497 
Toul, 362 
Toul, Bishop of, his agreement 

with Christina, Duchess of 

Lorraine, 472 
Tournay, Bishop of, 81 



INDEX 



561 



Trent, 72, 78, 133 

Treves, 435 

Triboulet the jester, 223 

Trivulzio, Contessa Dejanira, 99, 

130 ; on the loss of Belloni, 376; 

her letter to Messer Innocenzio 

Gadio, 526 
Trivulzio, Count Gaspare, 99; his 

reception of Christina, Duchess 

of Milan, 130 
Troyes, Louis, Bishop of, 247 note, 

253 
Tuke, Sir Brian, 168 note 
Tunis, capture of, 106 
Turin, evacuation of, 116 
Tuscany, Grand-Duke Ferdinand 

of, his marriage with Christina 

of Lorraine, 507, 508 
Tytler, P. F., " England under 

Edward VI.," 380 note, 532 

Ulmann, H., " Kaiser Maxi- 
milian," II note, 532 
Upsala, Cathedral of, 25 
Urbino, Duke of, 270 

Vaissiere, P. de, " Vie de Charles 
de Marillac," 344 note, 532 

Valenciennes, 176, 224 

Valladolid, 125 

Valois, Madeleine de, her pro- 
posed marriage with James V. 
of Scotland, 115; her marriage, 
147; death, 147 

Varembon, Marc de Rye, Marquis 
of, his marriage with the 
Duchess of Brunswick, 511 

Vaucelles, Abbey of, truce signed 
at, 403 

Vaudemont, Louise, Countess of, 
489; christening of her daugh- 
ter, 351 

Vaudemont, Nicholas, Count de. 
Bishop of Metz, 253, 294, 295; 
his birth, 263; appointed joint 
Regent of Lorraine, 302; at 
the funeral of the Duke of 
Lorraine, 309; his marriage, 
324; at Blois, 350; loyalty to 
Christina, Duchess of Lorraine, 
358, 374, 390; appointed sole 
Regent, 364; his second mar- 
riage, 390; retires from public 
life, 463; christening of his 
daughter, 482 

Vaudemont and Joinville, Ferry, 
Count of, 257 

yaughan, Stephen, Ambassador, 



175; his interview with Queen 
Mary of Hungary, 176; at 
Antwerp, 201 

Veeren, 14, 36 

Vely, M. de, 199, 233 

Vendome, Antoine de Bourbon, 
Duke of, 179; his courtship of 
the Duchess of Milan, 207 ; mar- 
riage with Jeanne d'Albret, 326 

Vendome, Mademoiselle de, 179 

VercelU, 116 

Vercelh, Bishop of, 87 

Verona, 132 

Verri, P., " Storia di Milano," 532 

Vertot, R. de, " Ambassades de 
MM. de Noailles en Angleterre," 
532 

Viborg, 33 

Vieilleville, Governor of Verdun, 
380; Memoires, 532 

Vigevano, 83, 87, 407, 477 

Villach, 372 

Villamont, A., " Voyages," 497 
note, 532 

Viola, N., "II Santuario di Tor- 
tona," 499 note, 532 

Vives, Louis, 6 

Voigt, G., " Albert von Branden- 
burg," 318 note, 532 

Vueren, Castle of, 8 

Waldrevange, 305 

Wallop, Sir John, 280 

Walpole, Horace, " Anecdotes of 
Painting," 274 note, 532 

Wasa, Gustavus, 276; his revolt 
at Dalecarlia, 27; lays siege to 
Stockholm, 31, 33 

Wassy, massacre at, 471 

Willems, Dyveke, her relations 
with King Christian 11. of Den- 
mark, 1 8 ; her sudden death, 24 

Willems, Hermann, 25 

Willems, Sigebritt, 18; appointed 
mistress of the Queen of Den- 
mark's household, 19; her in- 
fluence over King Christian II., 
24; arrested and burnt, 38 

Windsor, 215, 391 

Wingfield, Sir Robert, Ambassa- 
dor at Ghent, 30; on the con- 
duct of King Christian II., 33, 

34 
Wolsey, Cardinal, at Bruges, 30; 

his retinue, 30; interview with 

King Christian II., 30 
Wornum, R., "Life of Holbein," 

159 note, 274 note, 532 



562 



INDEX 



Wotton, Nicholas, 205; on the 
surrender of St. Dizier, 289; at 
the Conference of Cercamp, 
428; of Cateau Cambresis, 
436 

Wriothesley, Thomas, 149, 176; 
at Cambray, 177; on the terms 
of Henry VIII. 's negotiation of 
marriage, 184; his interviews 
with Queen Mary of Hungary, 
189, 190; with Christina, 
Duchess of Milan, 191 -194; his 
entertainments at Brussels, 
198-201; detained at Brussels, 



202 ; treatment, 203 ; return to 
England, 204 
Wiirtemberg, Duchy of, 339 
Wyatt, Sir Thomas, Ambassador, 
145 ; his interviews with 
Charles V., 227; his efforts to 
prevent an alliance between 
Christina, Duchess of Milan, and 
the Duke of Cleves, 232 

Young, Colonel G., " The Medici," 

532 

Zeeland, 14, 43, 327, 406 
Zeneta, Marchioness of, 174 



BILLING AND SONS, LTD., PKINTERS, GUILPFORD 



O o 










%-;^ 
./""^. 






Y^ - • • • ' 
















■^^A 




^^<i 




